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Steve Chiotakis: If there was any doubt about the reach of the global economic slowdown, there is this: One of the world’s largest mining companies, Rio Tinto, has announced a lot of layoffs. From London, Stephen Beard reports.

Stephen Beard: Rio Tinto says it will shed more than 14,000 jobs from its global workforce by the end of next year. Many of the job losses will be in Australia. The company plans to postpone exploration work and sell some of its mines.

The aim is to pay off $10 billion of its $40 billion debt. Rio says it’s reacting to a global economic slowdown of unprecedented speed and severity.

Rio is the world’s second-largest producer of iron ore, the most important constituent of steel. The sharp drop in demand from the car and construction industries has hit Rio hard.

In London, this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.