New Afton Mine.
Image Credit: FILE PHOTO
February 02, 2018 - 4:00 PM
KAMLOOPS - New Gold's New Afton mine operation in Kamloops has announced 28 layoffs.
Scott Davidson, manager of environment, social responsibility and tailings for New Gold, says the company spoke with the affected employees earlier this week, before the layoffs were announced yesterday, Feb. 1.
The decision was made as part of a reorganization for the mine, Davidson says, and New Gold's decision to hold off on expanding the New Afton mine in Kamloops.
"The actual reorganization occurred over Tuesday and Wednesday," Davidson says. "The unfortunate thing is, when you do reorganization, staff is affected."
The workers affected were a mix of hourly workers and full-time staff, and severance was offered to some.
Although the expansion of New Afton could still take place at some point in the future, Davidson says the company went ahead with the layoffs so they would only have to go through a single around.
The 28 layoffs mean New Afton's workforce now sits at 410 employees.
"We took the time after this decision to take a very hard look at it," Davidson says. "It’s very difficult when you have to make these decisions, it’s affecting peoples lives."
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