Hwange Colliery Company Limited (HCCL) plans to reduce its workforce by as much as half and will restart underground operations in the third quarter as the Zimbabwean miner seeks to reduce costs and return to profitability. HCCL began a voluntary severance program in March and about 200 staff have already taken the option, MD Thomas Makore said in an interview Tuesday. The company, which employs 2 400 people, probably needs to slim down to about 1 200 to 1 400 to produce competitively, he said.
