Gibraltar Mines near Williams Lake is reducing its work force by seven per cent, Taseko Mines Ltd. vice president of corporate affairs Brian Battison said as he confirmed notice of the layoffs are going out Monday morning and are effective immediately.
The seven per cent translates into "just under" 50 Taseko Gibraltar employees losing positions plus another 20 contractors, Battison told the Tribune.
Battison said the layoffs are a direct result of falling copper prices which are at a five and a half year low.
In other news, Taseko Ltd. is in BC Supreme Court in Vancouver Monday arguing a defamation suit against the Wilderness Committee.
The suit was filed in 2012 when Taseko alleged the Wilderness Committee had published defamatory statements in online publications encouraging members of the public to participate in the review process for the New Prosperity Mine.
"The Wilderness Committee maintains that the lawsuit was an attempt to put a chill on growing opposition to the project, which risked harming Fish Lake in Tsilhqot’in Nation territory," the Wilderness Committee said in a press release.