BHP cuts down on white-collar manpower in Singapore and Australia

The mining giant is set to lay off more than 700 functional jobs.

Bloomberg reports that mining giant BHP Group Ltd. will be targeting jobs in Singapore and Australia for the downsizing, but the exact numbers and dates are yet to be disclosed.

The changes come less than six weeks after the mining firm announced a major shake-up of its senior management, with the promotion of three women to key positions on its executive leadership board and the appointment of a chief transformation officer.

Cuts to BHP’s finance team were flagged at a company meeting last week by Chief Financial Officer Peter Beaven, and BHP’s technology team also faces a reduction of as much as 30% of its 2,000-strong team spread across Australia and Singapore, according to a report by The Australian.

A spokesperson for BHP declined to comment on The Australian report, but said the process of simplifying the business and support facilities has been underway for about a year. “This work began about 12 months ago and is across functions including finance, human resources, technology and external affairs,” the spokeswoman said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg.

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