By Sam Burgess
Updated
A manufacturing firm at Toowoomba on Queensland's Darling Downs says it will slash up to 100 jobs by the new year because of weakening conditions in the mining sector.
Russell Mineral Equipment (RME) is a global mining services company with more than 300 employees.
RME managing director John Russell says a 20 per cent drop in orders has forced it to shed workers.
"What it boils down to is that there's been so much construction and supply of metals, and we're 100 per cent metals - we do no coals - so copper, gold, platinum, nickel and things like that, the supply of metals has met, and in some cases exceeded, so people just aren't building any more mines," he said.
However, Mr Russell says the global slowdown in mining construction activity is cyclical and he is confident the firm will hire more staff in the future.
"The cycle is about 30 months long," he said.
"This one might be a bit different because there was an odd GFC [global financial crisis] even in there as well but we're expecting a low of a couple of years.
"It's a lull - it's not a full stop."
The CEO of the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Greg Johnson, says he is confident most of the staff will find work elsewhere.
"You wouldn't want to be anywhere else in Australia than Toowoomba and the region," he said.
"It's really a hotspot in terms of economic activity throughout the nation and far better to be facing the prospect of looking for a job here than anywhere else in Australia."
He says the cuts are a blow for the region.
"I do understand this might be a cyclical thing and we could see next year, with a change in economic circumstances, the opportunity to re-hire many of these people - that would be a terrific outcome," he said.
Topics: company-news, mining-industry, work, mining-rural, community-development, regional, regional-development, toowoomba-4350
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