By Fabian Cambero
SANTIAGO (Reuters) -Chilean lithium miner SQM has begun laying off workers in its Chilean operations, according to a union memo to workers seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
A union source said the dismissals would amount to 5% of its workforce nationwide. SQM employed 8,344 people in Chile and elsewhere at the end of last year, with three-quarters working at the northern Chile operations where it extracts lithium, a key battery metal.
SQM declined to comment.
The memo from the Sindicato SQM Salar union, dated Tuesday, said company management had informed the group’s president that 25% to 30% of the layoffs would correspond to “general roles,” and the rest to supervisors. They would take place at SQM’s offices in Santiago as well as the Atacama salt flat and its lithium processing plant, the memo said.
“As a union we regret the decision taken by the company, which affects our members, and we categorically question the reasons behind it,” the memo said, without providing further details.
Lithium miners worldwide have been hit by a protracted slump in global prices, forcing some companies to pull back on plans and trim workforces, including U.S. firm Albemarle, which is the only other lithium miner in Chile.
SQM, the world’s second biggest lithium miner, also makes fertilizers and industrial chemicals. The company missed first-quarter profit estimates and said it expected lower lithium prices to continue in the second quarter due to global oversupply.
(Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Writing by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Sarah Morland and Brendan O’Boyle)
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