Freeport McMoRan is laying off 1,550 workers out of a total workforce of about 3,300 at the Morenci copper mine about 50 miles northeast of Safford, according to press reports. No announcement is posted on the company's Web page yet. [right, Morenci mine, May 2008, my photo]
Freeport's stock is down almost $100 per share from its high of the past year.
The price of copper is about $1.43 per pound, up a bit from its recent lows, but still way down from a peak over $4 this spring.