ArcelorMittal To Shed 3500 Jobs Because of Loadshedding, South Africans Tearful: “The New Dawn”
- Steel giant ArcelorMittal is due to lay 3500 workers off, an announcement they made earlier this week to workers
- The company's CEO said that the debilitating energy crisis, the rising costs of Transnet operations and the scrap metal ban contributed to the decision
- South Africans were moved to sadness by the decision and blamed the African National Congress for the job loss
Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News's current affairs journalist, offered coverage of current affairs and societal issues during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.
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ArcelorMittal is set to shed 35000 jobs to be sustainable. Thanks to load shedding and high Transnet costs, the steel manufacturer has taken a huge knock. South Africans mourned the realisation that 3500 families will have no source of income.
ArcelorMittal to retrench 3500 workers
According to eNCA, ArcelorMittal has been devastatingly knocked by the energy crisis. The company's CEO, Kobus Verster, said that the lack of growth and demand is one of the main problem areas. He revealed that the announcement was made this week, and they have begun engaging the government, Transnet, and unions. They will continue to see if they can find solutions. They believe that the demand problem will not likely be solved shortly. He also believes that the ban on scrap exports gave their competitors an edge above them.
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Citizens cry at thousands of jobs lost
South Africans on Facebook were heartbroken at the sheer number of lost jobs thanks to loadshedding.
Lindie Van Wyngaardt wrote:
“This is so sad. This giant steel company carries a lot of towns where the men are the main breadwinners for their homes. This is heartbreaking.”
Sanjev Roopnarain wrote:
“Today Mitttal, tomorrow VW. Next year, Ford. Yet we will still vote for them. Soon we will all be without work. No government grants because the tax of the middle class has disappeared.”
Itumeleng Lorenzo Mabele added:
“The ANC should be proud.”
Leon James Hargreaves remarked:
“We are feeling the pain of the ANC government’s failures now. Thanks to the never-ending loadshedding, companies are retrenching their workforce.”
Jacques John was mad.
“All thanks to Eskom and the corrupt government!”
Sandile Dlomo was sad.
“The new dawn Ramaphosa promised South Africans.”
Munyai Wa Afrika added:
“The economy is fumbling mainly due to ANC administrative strategies.”
SABC retrenched over 600 jobs
Briefly News reported that the SABC retrenched over 600 employees a while ago due to restructuring.
The company issued redundancy notices and began shedding jobs immediately to sustain its operations. The former CEO, Madoda Mxakwe, revealed that retrenching workers was tremendously difficult for the company.
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Source: Briefly News
