China to cut 500,000 steel and coal jobs this year

China said Wednesday it will cut 500,000 jobs in the steel and coal industries this year as it continues to trim excess capacity in the smokestack sectors amid a slowing economy. Minister of Human Resources Yin Weimin, in announcing the cuts at a press conference in Beijing, said the laid-off workers will enter a job placement programme or be offered early retirement. China makes more than half the world's steel, but an economic slowdown and sagging global demand has left the industry with massive overcapacity.