Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. will curtail production and lay off at least 1,550 Morenci mine employees, according to an announcement from the mining company Friday.

As of Friday, about 3,300 people are employed at Morenci. The anticipated layoff will cut that work force by nearly half.

“Detailed plans for the curtailment are currently in development,” Freeport spokesman Richard Peterson said in an e-mail message to the Courier. According to Peterson, the date of the first layoffs is expected to be in the 14-day period beginning March 16 and ending March 29. The majority of affected employees will be placed on a paid leave of absence starting Feb. 2.

“A limited number of affected employees may be asked to continue to work, as may be necessary in support of the operations, until their scheduled layoff date,” Peterson said. “Local leaders and government officials are being notified. We deeply regret the hardship this causes our employees and the community.”

The action is for Morenci only — no other mines are affected, according to Freeport.

The cuts are in addition to the 402 workers laid off Nov. 17. Since then, about 300 more have either been retired or lost through other attrition, bringing Morenci's current work force to about 3,300. Fifty-nine workers were laid off at the Safford mine in November. No mention has been made of additional layoffs there.

Though no layoffs were announced for the Safford mine, Graham County is certain to experience economic impacts because many residents work at the Morenci mine.

“Graham and Greenlee counties are interlocked economically. It (layoffs) affects us; it affects all of us,” said Sheldon Miller, director of the Graham County Chamber of Commerce. “We are in economic times none of us have been through before. It’s hard to know how to react.”

In addition to previous and future layoffs, some workers' hours have been reduced to 32 hours per week at Morenci, Safford and other FMI sites. No figure on the number of workers affected was given.

Drew John, chairman of the Graham County Board of Supervisors, was at a meeting in Phoenix but phoned the Courier to talk about the layoffs.

“I’m disappointed in FMI’s decision to lay off that many people. Though they might all be from the Morenci mine, it’s an important part of our economic base,” John said.

He also said there are 400 mining jobs at the Safford mine that are still intact.

“It’s (the Morenci layoff) not a good thing, but the people of Graham County are strong, and we will have to spend within our means,” John said. “As the song says, ‘We will survive, but it just won’t be in a Mercedes Benz.’”

Neither the layoffs nor the reduced hours come as a surprise to most as copper prices have plunged from a record $4 a pound about six months ago to a recent low of $1.25. It is all part of the major global recession which has resulted in a tremendous number of cutbacks in mining worldwide.

Cutting costs in Safford

In another cost-cutting effort, Freeport is terminating leases on two offices in Safford — at 625 Main St. and at 1124 W. Thatcher Blvd. The latter is at the Windsong Building.

Freeport owns several other buildings in Graham County that will remain open. These include the Occupational Training Center on Highway 70 in Thatcher; the Central Analytical Service Center on East Highway 70 in Safford; the former Stockmen’s Bank building on Main Street in Safford, and offices at its Dos Pobres mine north of Safford and the Morenci mine in Greenlee County.

The layoffs at Morenci and the canceled leases are the latest cost-cutting efforts initiated by Freeport in response to declining copper prices. There were layoffs in late 2008 of mine and contract employees and curtailment of mine exploration at several Arizona sites.

Freeport also halted the construction of a sulphur plant at the Dos Pobres mine.