Rapidly changing trade and economic policies in the United States are not an immediate cause for concern for the company as long as employees remain focused on being the best at the basics, Freeport leaders said during a recent virtual town hall.
That includes possibly getting rid of the U.S. penny.
The U.S. government has proposed tariffs on certain products – including copper – and against certain countries, including Mexico and Canada. President Donald Trump also has signed various executive orders ending diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the federal government and pausing enforcement of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
In response to a question about the company’s own practices in light of shifting government priorities, Josh Olmsted, President and Chief Operating Officer-Americas, said Freeport has core values that do not change.
“At the end of the day our culture, our philosophy has always been about doing the right thing all the time for a long time,” Olmsted said. “Things change from a government and oversight perspective administration to administration. To do the right thing is always going to be to do the right thing.”
Olmsted was joined by Steve Higgins, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, who addressed the potential impacts of tariffs on the business. On other topics, Jeff Champ, Senior Director of Digital Platforms and Development, and Cindy Barber, Director, Business Projects, provided an update on the company’s new data platform – S/4HANA. About 2,200 employees from across the Americas viewed the town hall.
Company well positioned in U.S.
On tariffs, Higgins said Freeport’s United States operations are well positioned because virtually all the copper they produce is sold domestically. Freeport supplies about 35 percent of the copper used in the U.S.
“What we can do about it is to perform on safety, production and cost,” Higgins said. “Those are really the elements that are within our control. This tariff issue really is not. But if we perform on those three elements, we will be successful, and we’ll do well.”
As for the penny, the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency has proposed eliminating that coin from the U.S. currency, as it costs about 3 cents to produce. Not to worry, Olmsted said in response to an employee question on the matter. Pennies have not been made from copper since 1982, when the government switched to copper-plated zinc. So, the amount of copper used is a miniscule part of the global market.
On other topics, Olmsted said 2024 was a successful year in terms of reducing safety incidents. The North America operations had its lowest total recordable incident rate since 2015 and was able to reduce the number of high-energy events, those most likely to cause serious injuries.
While production and cost-control targets were missed in 2024, there was substantial improvement in the second half of the year, when production targets were achieved and costs started coming down.
“We still want to be the best at the basics,” Olmsted said. “That’s the foundation in all parts of our business – safety, production, costs. We’ve got to be the best at the basics.”
Successful S/4HANA launch
The S/4HANA project is part of Freeport’s Transform for Value initiative, which aims to supercharge global business operations using digital platforms. The February 4 initial launch covered the Americas and Europe, and the transformation at PT Freeport Indonesia is under way. For now, the effort is to provide “hyper-care” to help ensure all is running smoothly, Champ said. In March, the focus will pivot to following up with new opportunities that were deferred at startup.
“This started off as a driver with a technical upgrade,” Champ said. “We wanted to capture business value as part of this. But what we've also achieved is we really laid down a platform for the future.”
The final question from an employee to Olmsted and Higgins asked what advice they would give to their younger selves when they first started at Freeport.
Higgins said to “be bold. Be willing to take chances, to expect more of myself, to expect more of the company. Be willing to put your head above the parapet to have more impact.”
Olmsted said his advice would be about “being confident in yourself.”
“Don’t worry about the future but do the best that you can do in the moment,” Olmsted said. “If you do the best you can do in the job you are doing, opportunities will come.”