Latest news with #MikeHenry
West Australian
26-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
BHP chops 100 local jobs, joining rival Rio Tinto in iron ore axings
WA's most profitable iron ore miner, BHP, trimmed down its local headcount by about 100 last week. The round of layoffs swept through in-house employees and contractors across the company's WA iron ore division, The West Australian understands, and is believed to have been focused on weeding out superfluous middle management roles. The iron ore arm sustains about 15,000 livelihoods in the State — predominately throughout five large mining hubs, two port facilities, more than 1000km of rail and the majority of the 45 levels in Brookfield Place on St Georges Terrace. BHP, which is headquartered in Melbourne, began slashing Australian jobs early last year as part of a global restructure targeting siloed departments including mine planning, logistics, decarbonisation and Aboriginal heritage. The specialised teams were disbanded and the remaining workers absorbed into a more streamlined BHP business. BHP's iron ore arch nemesis — Rio Tinto — has also been on a WA job purge in recent times. Rio's Pilbara iron ore headcount fell by about 500 in 2024 and outgoing chief executive Jakob Stausholm has foreshadowed further cuts this year. But Rio's workforce pruning is less surprising than BHP's. The cash cost to produce a tonne of iron ore from a Pilbara iron ore mine under BHP's control was $US18.19 in 2024, a year-on-year increase of just one per cent. Meanwhile, Rio's cost spiked 7 per cent to $US23/t. Yet, BHP chief executive Mike Henry is still keeping a close an eye on the bottom line and has labelled wage inflation in Australia as 'especially problematic'. The West understands BHP's ambition to produce 305 million tonnes of iron ore in WA over the 'medium-term' is unaffected by the latest round of redundancies. The Big Australian expects to produce between 282mt and 294mt of the steelmaking commodity this financial year. Iron ore is currently fetching just under $US100/t, compared to roughly $US115/t a year ago.
AU Financial Review
22-05-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
The big question behind the big changes at the top of Fortescue and Rio
When Rio Tinto and Fortescue announced changes at the chief executive level within an hour of each other on Thursday night, it raised an obvious question: don't these things usually come in threes? Having just completed a seamless succession process at the chairman level, history suggests BHP is probably 12 months to 18 months away from announcing a replacement for chief executive Mike Henry. But the same big question driving change at the top of Rio and Fortescue will be central to the process that eventually plays out at BHP: what does the new era of growth look for in Australian mining?
The Age
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
ASX ends higher, led by energy and tech stocks; Macquarie, Aristocrat shares fall
Welcome to your five-minute recap of the trading day. The numbers The Australian sharemarket swung into the green in afternoon trading, sent higher by energy and tech stocks, which more than made up for losses from big names such as Macquarie Group and Aristocrat that had kept the market in negative territory for most of the session. The S&P/ASX 200 finished up 10.6 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 8279.6, rising for its sixth session in a row. Six of its 11 industry sectors advanced, with tech and energy stocks the big winners. Their gains were countered by falls in consumer stocks and utilities. The Australian dollar was flat at US64.71¢. The lifters Tech stocks yet again followed their peers in the US, where chipmakers were leading a rally after AI giants Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices said they would supply semiconductors for a massive data-centre project in Saudi Arabia. The ASX tech sector rose 1 per cent, led by family member tracking app Life360, which soared a further 9.5 per cent after reporting huge sales growth this week. Loading The iron ore heavyweights also extended their recent gains amid hopes for easing global trade tensions since the US and China on Monday announced a 90-day truce in their trade war and agreed to temporarily reduce tariffs on each other's goods. BHP, the world's largest miner, rose 0.6 per cent. Its CEO Mike Henry told a global mining conference overnight that the mining titan was well-positioned to navigate its way through the uncertainty created by Trump's trade wars. Rio Tinto added 0.5 per cent and Fortescue climbed 2.2 per cent.
The Age
24-04-2025
- Business
- The Age
BHP gears up to find new CEO as Mike Henry could exit early next year
BHP Group is preparing to begin looking for a new chief executive officer in the coming months, with key lieutenants already jostling for position to succeed Mike Henry at the top of the world's biggest miner. The understanding at BHP is that Henry is now heading toward the end of his tenure, according to company insiders. They emphasised that no decision has been made. But some people close to BHP say a change could come as soon as early next year, and some top executives have begun increasing their interaction with investors and other stakeholders ahead of a likely succession process. The internal frontrunners for the role are seen to be Geraldine Slattery, who heads the company's Australian mines, Chief Financial Officer Vandita Pant and Ragnar Udd, who runs the commercial team. However, the search is also likely to include external candidates, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. A change of leadership would come at a pivotal time for both BHP and the wider mining sector. The company and its biggest rivals spent the past couple of years pursuing a series of failed megadeals, while US President Donald Trump's trade war has cast fresh uncertainty over future demand for key commodities. BHP itself is embarking on a slew of expensive growth projects and Henry's successor is likely to face tough questions about capital allocation, including whether the company can pursue its aggressive spending plans while sustaining its dividend and debt policies. Loading The miner is already tightening its belt and has significantly sharpened its focus on cost-cutting across the business, some of the people said. BHP declined to comment. The process to find a replacement for Henry is likely to start in earnest in the coming months, the people said, making it one of the first major tasks of new Chairman Ross McEwan. Henry has led BHP since January 2020, which means that an early 2026 departure would mean he has completed a six-year tenure — roughly in line with his most recent predecessors.
Sydney Morning Herald
24-04-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
BHP gears up to find new CEO as Mike Henry could exit early next year
BHP Group is preparing to begin looking for a new chief executive officer in the coming months, with key lieutenants already jostling for position to succeed Mike Henry at the top of the world's biggest miner. The understanding at BHP is that Henry is now heading toward the end of his tenure, according to company insiders. They emphasised that no decision has been made. But some people close to BHP say a change could come as soon as early next year, and some top executives have begun increasing their interaction with investors and other stakeholders ahead of a likely succession process. The internal frontrunners for the role are seen to be Geraldine Slattery, who heads the company's Australian mines, Chief Financial Officer Vandita Pant and Ragnar Udd, who runs the commercial team. However, the search is also likely to include external candidates, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. A change of leadership would come at a pivotal time for both BHP and the wider mining sector. The company and its biggest rivals spent the past couple of years pursuing a series of failed megadeals, while US President Donald Trump's trade war has cast fresh uncertainty over future demand for key commodities. BHP itself is embarking on a slew of expensive growth projects and Henry's successor is likely to face tough questions about capital allocation, including whether the company can pursue its aggressive spending plans while sustaining its dividend and debt policies. Loading The miner is already tightening its belt and has significantly sharpened its focus on cost-cutting across the business, some of the people said. BHP declined to comment. The process to find a replacement for Henry is likely to start in earnest in the coming months, the people said, making it one of the first major tasks of new Chairman Ross McEwan. Henry has led BHP since January 2020, which means that an early 2026 departure would mean he has completed a six-year tenure — roughly in line with his most recent predecessors.
