Global mining behemoth BHP revealed on Thursday that it had been underpaying Australian employees for more than ten years, a mistake that will cost at least US$280 million to correct.
The business claimed that 28,500 present and former employees were denied paid leave for which they were qualified.
President of BHP Australia Geraldine Slattery promised that the error will be fixed “with interest” and “as quickly as possible.”
The business gave no explanation for how the mistake happened.
“We are sorry to all current and former employees impacted by these errors. This is not good enough and falls short of the standards we expect at BHP,” Slattery said.
BHP stated that it will have a more accurate cost estimate when it announces earnings in August, but for now it is estimated to have cost “US$280 million pre-tax.”
The announcement caused the company’s share price to drop by approximately 1%.
One of the biggest businesses in the world, BHP is a top producer of metallurgical coal, iron ore, nickel, copper, and potash.
Due to some of the world’s strictest labor laws, it is typical for businesses to find errors in previous payrolls and be required to make corrections.
