Vale hiring freeze not expected to last, Sudbury business experts say

A hiring freeze by Sudbury mining giant Vale is a reflection of what's happening in the mining industry, a university business professor says.

"In the mining industry right now, companies are suffering from depressed prices," Laurentian University's Jean-Charles Cachon said.

"In the case of Vale, [it's] iron ore prices that affect their bottom line. They're basically losing money as we speak."

• Sudbury 'a great place to buy' despite shrinking economy
• Vale smelter upgrades on track for 2018

Given the difficulties, the chair of the board of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce called Vale's decision to stop recruiting a sensible business move.

"I think it's just a good business planning strategy to keep themselves in a stable holding pattern," Karen Hourtovenko said.

She told CBC News Sudbury's economy can no longer rely just on growth in the mining industry, and needs to look for other opportunities.

"I think we have to look at what else can we offer whether it's the mine industry, healthcare, retail there's other areas that are strong and different sectors that are strong," Hourtovenko said.

"There's other ways to look at how do we bring in revenue into our province and our country, not just specifically putting all the eggs in one basket and hoping that mining is going to pull us out of this."

While this may be a challenging time for the economy, metal prices will rise, Hourtovenko noted. She said a shift is expected within the next two years.

Vale reports it put a freeze on new hires at the beginning of this year.

Cachon noted that Vale will have a lot of people retiring soon, and will have to replace those workers.