Johannesburg -South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will “fight tooth and nail” against plans by AngloGold Ashanti to lay off more than 800 workers, the sector’s biggest union said on Friday.Africa’s biggest gold producer is in talks with the NUM as well as the Uasa and Solidarity unions to axe workers at its domestic operations, a document showed on Thursday.
The NUM confirmed on Friday that it had received notice from AngloGold of a plan to dismiss 849 South African workers.
“The NUM remains fearless, committed, dedicated and unshaken in fighting for the mineworkers. The NUM does not want to see mineworkers being retrenched,” it said.
Read also: AngloGold Ashanti plans to axe 800 staff
AngloGold employs about 25 000 people in South Africa, whose vast resources are accompanied by sometimes volatile labour relations, rising costs and regulatory disruptions.
Output from its South African mines - roughly a quarter of the company’s nearly 4 million ounces in annual output - has declined in recent years.
AngloGold shares were down 0.37 percent on Friday to close at R163.77.