JOHANNESBURG - Mining company Impala Platinum said on Thursday it would cut 13,000 over two years as part of a strategic restructuring process.
The company said a strategic review of its Rustenburg operation showed that optimisation measures in the prevailing low platinum price environment were not sufficient to secure its economic viability. The Implats board had thus approved a turnaround strategy that would transition Impala Rustenburg to long-term viability.
"The restructuring process may potentially have an impact on 9,000 direct jobs and 4,000 contractor positions over the implementation period. While labour rationalisation is inevitable in a restructuring process of this nature, due care will be taken to ensure that forced job losses are minimised as far as possible through a range of job loss avoidance measures," it said.
It said a staged implementation over a two-year period would mitigate implementation risks and socio-economic impacts, and that the company would "execute the transition in a socially responsible manner and engage with all key stakeholders to mitigate the potential social impact as far as practically possible".
This would include consideration and development of potential commercial options to minimise job losses.
Impala Platinum projected once-off restructuring costs of approximately R2.7 billion during FY2019 and FY2020.