Rio Tinto is poised to cut several hundred jobs from its iron ore division in Western Australia, and merge its copper and coal divisions in a move that will see coal chief Harry Kenyon-Slaney leave the company.

Further deep cost cuts at Rio have been well flagged but the miner has stepped up the pace of its cost drive this month.

"There has been a fundamental downward shift in the mining sector with the downturn being deeper and prospects for a recovery extended," Moody's said. Credit:FDC

Fairfax Media revealed the looming iron ore job cuts on Friday, weeks after iron ore boss Andrew Harding sent a memo to staff warning of a "degree of urgency" to quickly achieve deep cost cuts and maintain its mantle as the world's lowest-cost exporter to China.

The miner declined to comment on the job cuts but put a statement out on Friday morning detailing a restructure across other parts of the Rio group that will see it streamlined from five to four product groups.