Citi Business News has gathered AngloGold Ashanti Ghana has finally laid off 4,300 of its workers as part of cost-saving measures.
This comes after the company announced the planned retrenchment in May this year.
The move is part of measures being undertaken by the mining company to make the Obuasi mine profitable.
AngloGold Ashanti budgeted to spend 220 million dollars in the major retrenchment exercise.
But the mining firm put the move on hold, and in early November denied reports that it had dismissed over 5,000 workers.
However confirming the latest development to Citi Business News, the National Chairman of the Ghana Mine Workers Union(GMWU) Kwarko Mensah Gyakari said the dismissal of the workers was effective November 30, 2014.
“as we speak now they’ve paid all the workers off”, he stressed.
AngloGold Ashanti Ghana signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ghana Mine Workers Union on 15th September,2014 , and were expected to finalize the retrenchment exercise by the end of November.
After the planned retrenchment exercise AngloGold Ashanti is expected to re-engage about 600 workers for care and maintenance of the mine.
“we will still go there and organize those 600 people they are recruiting”, Mr. Gyakari stated.
Member of Parliament for Obuasi West Kweku Kwarteng also confirmed the dismissal of the workers to Citi Business News.
However AngloGold Ashanti Ghana when contacted on the matter declined to comment but said it will release a press statement soon.
By: Rabiu Alhassan/citifmonline.com/Ghana