BHP Billiton Ltd has cut about 400 jobs held by outside contractors at coal mines in Australia, the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union (CFMEU) said Thursday.

Steve Pierce, the union’s district vice-president, said the figure was an estimate based on the number of union workers employed by the Norwich Park and Goonyella mines in Queensland state, where the cuts occurred, and added that the actual number of job losses could be higher.

A spokesman for BHP confirmed it cut some contractors’ jobs due to a slow down in production of coal used in steel making but declined to put a figure on the how many.

The latest reduction is on top of 1,100 jobs BHP eliminated at its Australian coal mines earlier this year.

“This is a normal part of the way we do business,” BHP spokesman Peter Ogden said in an e-mailed statement. “We adjust our contractor requirements to suit production.”

A 50:50 joint venture between BHP and Japanese trading firm Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) said in January it was reducing its coking coal output by 10-15 percent in the first half to address a decline in steel making.

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