Mining giant Anglo American Plc is cutting staff in its trading divisions as part of a restructuring announced earlier this year when it rejected a bid from rival BHP Group Ltd.
About 10 people at Anglo American’s London and Singapore offices have left the firm in recent weeks as their roles have been cut, according to people familiar with the matter. The people stepping down include head of metals Sebastian Castelli and head of structured manufacturing Mark Sainsbury.
The miner also said it would no longer enter into long-term deals to buy commodities it does not already produce, according to the people, who declined to be identified because the matter is not public.
Anglo is scaling back its operations after a takeover bid by BHP that would have created a commodities powerhouse. BHP ultimately pulled out of the deal, but the move forced Anglo to accelerate its business overhaul, including plans to sell its platinum business and shed coal, diamonds and nickel.
The company is now refocusing on key commodities and cutting high-value business units. Anglo American declined to comment on the recent moves. Castelli and Sainsbury did not respond to requests for comment.
Anglo has leapfrogged other major miners over the past few years by building a robust commodity portfolio, seeking to capture a slice of the huge profits that firms like Glencore Plc make from buying, storing and selling everything from oil to gas and metals.
That has meant hiring specialist traders known as “originators” tasked with striking deals to secure long-term demand for materials. In Anglo’s case, the company made multi-year prepayments for cathodes from Capstone Copper Corp.’s Mantover project, a former Anglo American asset. It also invested $19 million in Canada Nickel Company Inc., which took a stake in nickel, iron and chrome.
Now that Anglo American is moving away from nickel and cutting costs, it is cutting the trade credit unit housed in its marketing unit and no longer taking on such long-term deals.
In 2023, Anglo sold 444,000 tonnes of copper to third parties, equivalent to just over half of what it mines itself. It has also expanded into battery metals, liquefied natural gas and quantity trading.