The world’s largest mining company, BHP Billiton Ltd. announces 6,000 jobs to be cut amidst turmoil in coping with dropping demand.

The amount of jobs to be shed accounts for around 6 percent of Billiton’s total workforce. Jobs cuts will affect locations around the globe with 3,300 of the jobs cut being in Australia, 2,000 from Chile and 550 from the United States.

BHP Billiton is one of the world’s largest diversified resources companies, with 39,000 employees working in more than 100 operations in 25 countries. With sharp drops in demand over the last three months, the company has been forced to take these measures to survive the current economic climate.