--WorleyParsons says parts of Australian unit affected by
project delays, changes
--Reports some redundancies, without providing specific
details
--Says no job cuts are related to BHP's Olympic Dam rethink
(Adds further details in paragraphs three, six to eleventh.)
By Rhiannon Hoyle
SYDNEY--Mining and energy services company WorleyParsons Ltd.
(WOR.AU) has been forced to cut some jobs and redeploy other staff
as "isolated pockets" of its Australian business are affected by
changes and delays to mining projects in the resource-rich
country.
There have, however, been no redundancies related to BHP
Billiton Ltd.'s (BHP.AU) decision last week to scrap a roughly
US$30 billion plan to expand its Olympic Dam mine in the state of
South Australia, a spokesman for WorleyParsons said in a statement
to The Wall Street Journal. He also said that total staff numbers
in Australia have risen over the past year.
The nation's multi-billion-dollar resources investment boom has
been losing momentum in recent months as commodity prices have
declined on subdued global demand at a time when both mine
construction and output costs are rising. This has pushed some
miners to alter or defer plans for new projects until market
conditions improve.
"While overall employee numbers in WorleyParsons' Australian
business have increased over the past year some isolated pockets of
the business have been impacted by project activity resulting in
the redeployment of staff onto other projects and some
redundancies," its spokesman said.
The company wouldn't provide any further details ahead of its
full-year earnings report, which is due Wednesday.
Last week, BHP Billiton said its expansion plans for Olympic Dam
had been derailed by escalating construction costs, weaker
commodity prices and the strength of the Australian dollar. It will
instead investigate an alternative, less capital-intensive design
for an open-pit extension to the mine, although isn't likely to
approve any new major projects until at least mid-2013.
The mining giant is set to cut some jobs in South Australia
following the decision, said state Premier Jay Weatherill, although
he declined to say how many people would be affected.
WorleyParsons said none of its cuts were linked to the project's
deferral.
"There have been no redundancies related to BHP's Olympic Dam
decision," the spokesman said.
"Projects being executed for BHP Billiton represent a very small
proportion of WorleyParsons' overall business," he said in a
separate statement last week, after the Olympic Dam decision was
announced.
WorleyParsons has operations in 44 countries, including the
U.S., Canada, Australia, and countries throughout the Middle East,
Africa and Asia. It employs about 37,800 people globally, according
to its website.
Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com