Big job losses at Kloof
The mining house Sibanye-Stillwater announced on Friday that it was drastically reducing its employees and contractors at Kloof Mine.
Since September, the company has consulted with employees and contractors on minimising job losses at the Kloof 4 Shaft and associated services.
Some 2,389 employees and 581 contractors were potentially affected by the S189. The affected employee number was reduced by 31 at Kloof 4 due to natural attrition since September. Through the consultation process, avoidance measures were agreed to and implemented, resulting in 1,057 employees accepting transfers to fill vacant positions at the SA gold operations. One hundred and seventy-six employees and 23 contractors will temporarily remain during the Kloof 4 shaft’s decommissioning phase. Five hundred and fifty employees from Kloof 4 Shaft accepted voluntary separation or early retirement packages, together with another 348 employees across the SA gold operations.
Unfortunately, 575 employees could not be accommodated and faced retrenchment. All affected contractors will also be reduced.
“While we never decide to close or restructure operations lightly, the closure of the Kloof 4 shaft was necessary to curb ongoing financial losses. The S189 consultation process encouragingly achieved this required outcome while reducing the number of retrenchments. We acknowledge and thank all stakeholders for their constructive engagement,” said the CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater, Neal Froneman.
