Whitehaven Coal is set to axe 192 jobs at the Daunia and Blackwater mines in Australia, Reuters reported.

The reduction includes 91 in-house roles across both operations, and 101 contractor and labour hire positions.

In April this year, Whitehaven Coal closed the deal to acquire the Daunia and Blackwater metallurgical coal mines in Queensland, Australia.

These mines were formerly owned by the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA), a joint venture between BHP and Mitsubishi Development.

Whitehaven Coal, through its two subsidiaries, acquired the coal mines for a maximum cash consideration of $4.1bn (A$6.45bn).

This deal was announced in October 2023.

The redundancies are believed to affect Whitehaven Coal workers who transitioned from BHP.

“This proposed new structure will remove duplication of roles, consolidate teams where logical, minimise unnecessary layers of complexity, and support a clear delineation of roles and responsibilities between site and functional teams,” a company spokesperson told the news agency.

Meanwhile, in July this year, BHP said that it will temporarily halt its Western Australia Nickel operations, which encompass both the Nickel West operations and the West Musgrave project, beginning in October 2024.

The decision, which puts 3,000 jobs on the line, was triggered by an oversupply in the global nickel market and a slump in nickel prices.

BHP has vowed to provide its employees alternative positions within the company or redundancy options. Additionally, the company has created a A$20m Community Fund to assist local communities throughout the suspension.