Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) plans to bring profits back to its South African platinum company in South Africa by slashing 14,000 jobs, the first of more cutbacks to come, according to reports.
Amplats, the world's largest platinum producer, is making the job cuts after suffering an operating loss of $715 million in 2012 due to violent labor unrest in South Africa.
The company said it will also be closing down some of its operations and sell one of its mines.
The company experienced an eight-week strike that crippled its operation in Rustenburg. The strike turned violent and left 50 people dead.
Amplats said it lost production of some 305,600 ounces of platinum due to strikes.
South Africa sits on 80 percent of the world's known reserves of the metal used for catalysts in cars. But the sector's margins are being squeezed after a period of growth.
According to South Africa's Chamber of Mines, the number of gold miners has plunged from around 490,000 in 1990 to 145,000 in 2011. Across the industry as a whole, the sector shed a third of its workforce over that period, from 780,000 to 513,000.
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