Canadian gold miner Guyana Goldfields Inc (GGI) yesterday announced phase two of layoffs from its Region Seven subsidiary as it prepares for the transition from open pit mining to underground mining.
It did not indicate how many workers would be let go in this phase but on May 19th, 160 of its then 530-member workforce were laid off.
Noting the undetermined period for underground mining, the company in a circular to Aurora Gold Mines (AGM) Inc employees said the second phase begins today at the Aurora mine site.
The circular in the name of Emma Geist, Director, People and Culture said that employees who will be part of this workforce reduction initiative while being on their break will be contacted by the Human Resources (HR) Department in order to report to the office in Georgetown to uplift their final papers.
Employees who will be part of the workforce reduction initiative while being at the site were to be advised by their supervisors yesterday or will have to report to the HR office this morning before they fly back from Aurora to Ogle Airport to get their final papers.
The circular said that extra flights have been scheduled to depart Aurora today.
It added that the final payout will be deposited to the bank accounts of impacted employees no later than June 19, 2020
“Following our first phase of workforce reduction, this second phase also marks another day in the history of AGM Inc. where this initiative will adversely impact many lives. While these are difficult times, we still need to keep our heads up high knowing that this will lead to a brighter future when the underground operations resume at some point in time”, the circular added.
While the exact number of workers affected in total is still not known, sources familiar with the company have estimated the number to be in the hundreds.
“It could be as many as 85 per cent of all employees and we have about 530 employees most of whom are Guyanese. We do not have the final number, so it could be lower or higher,” Senior Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Affairs, Perry Holloway, had told this newspaper.
The novel coronavirus has hit the company’s operations adversely since the workforce for this year had been sustaining itself on open pit mining while it waited to transition to underground mining.
But when COVID-19 restrictions were announced in March, the majority of the company’s expatriate management opted to return home. This meant that the entire operation had to be closed and locals forced to also go home and await a decision.
Guyana Goldfields is currently the subject of two takeover proposals and is deliberating on these.
