Johannesburg - ArcelorMittal South Africa may cut 200 managerial jobs as the continent’s largest steel producer tries to return to profitability, labour union Solidarity said.
AMSA, as the Johannesburg-based unit of the world’s biggest maker of steel is known, last week sent notices to affected staff at its plant in Vanderbijlpark, about 70 kilometres (43 miles) south of Johannesburg, Solidarity said in an e-mailed statement today.
The letters signal the start of job-cut talks under section 189 of the country’s Labour Relations Act, a process that takes 60 days.
“AMSA indicated in the retrenchment notice that it has been experiencing increased operational difficulties and challenges in recent years,” said Johan Venter, a sector organiser for Solidarity.
Paul O’Flaherty, who was appointed July 1 to replace Nonkululeko Nyembezi-Heita as chief executive officer of AMSA, is seeking to achieve the company’s first annual profit since 2010 as it battles increases in electricity costs that exceed inflation, plant outages and weak demand in its domestic market.
AMSA spokeswoman Kesebone Maema didn’t immediately answer a call seeking comment. - Bloomberg News