A report has found that New Caledonia's biggest private sector employer, the SLN nickel company, is losing 850,000 US dollars a day
The study, which has been obtained by the AFP news agency, was commissioned by unions after SLN proposed a ten percent cut in the number of hours worked to cope with the economic downturn.
It also found that despite the crisis, SLN's finances are healthy as the company has reserves in excess of 1.1 billion US dollars.
At the same time, it highlights that the SLN plant and its mines are old which has contributed to an annual increase of 12 percent in production costs, making them the highest of all global producers.
The authorities are yet to say whether they agree with the proposed job cuts.
An announcement may be made after this weekend's provincial elections.