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Investing.com -- Newmont Goldcorp Corp (NYSE:NEM) is clarifying the scope of its enterprise-wide cost and productivity initiative following a recent Bloomberg report that suggested the gold miner may be targeting significant cost reductions, potentially as much as $300 per ounce, and preparing for substantial job cuts.
In a statement provided to Investing.com, a Newmont spokesperson said the company’s program, originally announced in February, is designed to unlock long-term value following the 2023 acquisition of Newcrest Mining.
“On our February earnings call earlier this year we announced the launch of a cost and productivity improvement program aimed at unlocking the full potential of our world-class portfolio,” the spokesperson said. “Moves to reshape our structure reflect one of several steps we are taking in 2025 to reduce our cost base and improve productivity — positioning Newmont to deliver on our commitments to shareholders and partners across a range of gold price environments, and for the long-term success of the business.”
The Bloomberg article, citing people familiar with internal conversations, reported that managers had discussed lowering Newmont’s costs by as much as $300 per ounce, a roughly 20% reduction, and that realization of these cost improvements could include thousands of job cuts. The report noted that cost pressures have increased across Newmont’s expanded portfolio, particularly at several higher-cost Newcrest assets.
While Newmont did not comment on specific personnel actions, a person familiar with the company’s thinking told Investing.com the initiative is focused on aligning operations with a smaller, high-quality portfolio following recent divestitures, not on meeting a fixed per-ounce reduction target through broad workforce cuts. Any structure or workforce changes, they said, are being evaluated in the context of long-term performance, not short-term expense trimming.
Publicly available comments from Newmont leadership support that strategy. In the company’s Q1 2025 earnings call, CEO Tom Palmer framed labor costs, which make up approximately 50% of Newmont’s cost base, as stable and predictable.
“Labor represents half of our cost base,” Palmer said. “What we’re seeing in terms of labor, both our employees and contracted services... is consistent with what we’re seeing in our budgeted amounts.”
No restructuring or overhead-reduction initiatives were mentioned during the call, nor did executives signal any near-term headcount cuts. The company highlighted continued investment at major projects, including the Ahafo North development in Ghana, where COO Natasha Viljoen described “high numbers of people on-site” and emphasized safety and workforce coordination during simultaneous phases of construction.
The cost program, discussed in February, is part of what the company has described as a “go-forward portfolio” strategy. Following the sale of six non-core assets through 2024 and early 2025, Newmont now operates 11 Tier 1 or emerging Tier 1 mines. Executives said this simplified footprint will reduce capital complexity and allow more focused investment in high-margin operations like Lihir and Cadia.
While the cost review remains underway and details are expected in future updates, Newmont maintains the initiative is centered on improving productivity and resilience across commodity cycles, not driven by blanket cuts or aggressive numerical targets.