9 News reported that about 360 coal workers have been sacked from a central Queensland mine. The cuts were made after mining services company Macmahon lost a contract at BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance's Saraji mine.

As per report, they were part of the estimated 3,300 job cuts predicted in January across BHP Billiton's Australian operations by the end of this financial year.

A company spokesman said that “Our industry is facing difficult market conditions and BMA is not immune from the impacts. We will continue to adjust production and work schedule requirements in line with market demand and our customer requirements. The adjustment of contractor levels to suit production requirements is our normal business practice.”

The company's January production report showed metallurgical coal production over the financial year was expected to be down 10% to 15%.

(Sourced from 9news.com)