Rio to cut jobs as it outsources to IBM

JOB cuts are likely at Rio Tinto after the miner signing a $100 million deal with IBM to outsource some back-office functions.

MINING giant Rio Tinto is likely to axe hundreds of back office jobs after signing an outsourcing deal with US technology company IBM.

Rio has signed a $100 million, 10 year deal with IBM that will allow the miner to cuts costs in areas such as human resources, finance, information technology and procurement.

The agreement is expected to lead to around 800 job losses across the company's global operations.

Rio has not disclosed how many Australian jobs will be affected.

A spokesman said the company was facing increasing costs and seeking ways to reduce costs and improve productivity.

"Our core business is mining and it makes sense to partner with other companies for back office and transactional work," he said.

"We are working with our partners to find opportunities to reduce our costs in support functions like HR, finance, IT and procurement across Rio Tinto's global operations."

But he said it was too early to talk about any impact on roles.