Rio to slash 14,000 jobs, cut spending

Rio Tinto Group will eliminate 14,000 jobs and slash $5 billion in spending as the global recession curbs demand for metals, scaling back operations less than a month after BHP Billiton Ltd dropped a hostile bid.

Rio Tinto plans to reduce net debt by $10 billion by the end of 2009 from $38.9 billion and will sell "significant assets", the London-based company said in a statement to the Australian stock exchange yesterday. The job cuts account for about 13 percent of the 112,000 workforce, including 15,000 contract workers.

BHP Billiton abandoned its hostile $66 billion bid for Rio, the world's third-largest mining company, on Nov 25, citing Rio's debt and slumping demand for commodities.