By Elaine R. Alanguilan

Holcim Philippines Inc. has committed to preserve jobs and resume the operations of its Lugait cement plant in Mindanao once domestic demand improves.

Holcim Philippines chief operating officer Ian Thackwray issued the statement following an announcement from its parent company that it would cut some 3,300 jobs, mostly in the United States, amid the global credit crunch.

The Swiss-based cement manufacturer said in its Web site that “cash flow is the focus” and that “cost management and timely capacity adjustments are paramount” in the coming months.

Holcim said it planned to shut 67 plants in the US, resulting in 2,000 job cuts; 24 units in Spain and 450 jobs; and 20 site closures and 600 jobs in Britain. It added that some 280 workers would lose their jobs in Thailand.

Holcim in the Philippines has stopped operations in one production line in its Lugait in Misamis Oriental.

“It is not a plant shutdown, but an economic shutdown of only one production line in Holcim-Lugait plant and that there were no job losses as a result. The Lugait plant has annual production capacity of 884,000 metric tons, or 12.4 percent of the total operating capacity,” said Thackwray in a statement.

“Our commitment, as a company, is, whenever possible, we’re going to preserve employment. We recognize the effect that retrenchment has on employees, their families and their communities and will always resist doing this. None of the people in Lugait line lost their jobs,” said Thackwray.

He said over a hundred employees were redeployed because of the shutdown in Lugait’s line 1 but none were retrenched.

He said the Lugait facility continues to operate and that the economic shutdown of the line 1 was implemented beginning July 2008 due to low domestic demand and was likely to continue throughout this year.

He said one of the two kilns in Lugait had been shut down since July because of the fall in domestic demand, or prior the financial crisis.