One hundred and twenty employees have been let go by the Falcondo Xstrata Nickel mining company since Tuesday, 22 October. This brings the total number of people dismissed from the company in the last two weeks to 320. Mining company executives said that the pink slips would continue to be handed out as planned in the company’s restructuring program after the temporary suspension of their operations. Nonetheless, the general secretary of the Falconbridge Dominicana Workers union (Sutrafado), Bernardo Peralta, said yesterday, Wednesday 23 October that Falcondo has let go more than 1,200 workers and contractors after the foreign multinational company suspended its operations of ferro-nickel mining and production.
The union leader revealed that Falcondo has not stopped dismissing people who work in its Loma Peguera installations in Bonao. “As of Tuesday 22 October, they suspended more than 600 workers and 600 contractors from their jobs,” said Peralta. The Canadian company announced that it would let go between 900 and 1,200 workers and employees from its plant and installations there. The firings also include administrative personnel. The principal executives of Xstrata Nickel Falcondo claimed that the reduction of their operations is based on low nickel prices on the international market, which was why they were temporarily withdrawing from the market until prices improve.