Sibanye Stillwater Faces Losses and Layoffs Amid Declining Palladium Prices
Sibanye Stillwater has reported significant financial losses and plans to lay off around 700 workers in Montana due to plummeting palladium prices. The company is also seeking up to $700 million in prepayment deals to stabilize its finances.
| Score | Value |
|---|---|
Scale | 6 |
Novelty | 5 |
Positivity | 2 |
Reliability | 8 |
Actionability | 6 |
Society | 7 |
Journalism | 5 |
Highlights
- Sibanye Stillwater reported a loss of 7.1 billion rand ($394.42 million) for the first half of the year.
- The company plans to lay off approximately 700 employees in Montana due to declining palladium prices.
- Palladium prices have dropped from about $2,300 an ounce two years ago to below $1,000 an ounce recently.
- Sibanye is close to securing $600 million to $700 million in prepayment deals to improve its financial position.
- The company has already written down the value of its U.S. mining assets by about $2.4 billion.
Perspectives
- Republican Senator Steve Daines has criticized the Biden administration's mining policies, claiming they have contributed to the job losses at Sibanye-Stillwater and are detrimental to the energy industry. [5]
- Sibanye-Stillwater's management has indicated that increased palladium imports from Russia, which produces over 40% of the global supply, are negatively impacting prices and contributing to the company's financial struggles. [3][5]