Fortescue slashes hundreds of jobs across green venture
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The news: Fortescue’s green energy venture, Fortescue Zero, is set to axe hundreds of manufacturing jobs across the UK and Australia, according to media reports.
The numbers: First reported by The Australian, Fortescue Zero, which employs around 1000 people in the UK and 100 in Australia, is expected to terminate at least several hundred of the company’s workforce.
Some of the 100 Australian employees are expected to be affected, but the AFR writes that the bulk of job losses will come from the UK. The exact number of job losses remains unclear.
Staff at the company’s factory north of London were reportedly told on Tuesday morning local time.
The context: Fortescue’s chief executive of growth and energy Gus Pichot said in comments to the media that: “Regrettably, the changes are likely to impact some of our workforce, with the majority of those potentially affected in the United Kingdom. This is never an easy decision, and Fortescue is dedicated to guiding the transition with compassion, respect and support.”
Over the weekend, Forrest did not mention that job losses were imminent when he said that battery plants and power systems required for trucks built with its German partner Liebherr would be made in China, rather than at a Fortescue factory in Oxfordshire as had been planned.
“We’re building up our research in Oxford, but we’re making sure that manufacturing is done wherever it’s most efficient,” Forrest told The Telegraph.
Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue bought Williams Advanced Engineering in 2022, an offshoot of the Formula One team, for $336 million, rebadging it as Fortescue Zero.
Despite Forrest’s long-standing public advocacy on renewable energy and reducing emissions across Australia’s energy sector, the company began retreating from hydrogen projects in 2024.
In July 2024 Fortescue slashed 700 jobs as the company switched its focus to producing scalable cheap renewable energy and puts its green hydrogen ambitions on the backburner.
The sources: The Australian, AFR, news.com, The Telegraph
