Rio outsources up to 800 jobs

Rio Tinto (RIO) is expected to cut between 700 and 800 jobs globally as a result of a back-office outsourcing deal with IBM, according to The Australian Financial Review.

The contract will see jobs in finance and accounting, information technology and other departments outsourced to IBM's global teams, with much of the work expected to be conducted in India, eastern Europe and South America, the AFR reported.

The contract is expected to be worth about $100 million to IBM over up to 10 years.

“Like others in the mining industry, Rio Tinto is facing the challenge of increasing costs,” a Rio spokesman told the AFR.

“We are actively seeking ways to reduce costs and improve productivity across the company.

“Our core business is mining and it makes sense to partner with other companies for back office and transactional work.

“We are working with our partners to find opportunities to reduce our costs in support functions like HR, finance, IT and procurement across Rio Tinto's global operations.”