JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's struggling
state-owned airline South African Airways (SAA) could cut more
than 900 jobs as it restructures to stem severe financial
losses, it said in a statement.
SAA said it had started consultations with its more than
5,000 staff and was talking to labour unions.
At a media briefing later on Tuesday, SAA said the
restructuring plan will be finalised by March next year and
should save the firm 700 million rand ($47 million).
"If you look at the 944 employees (who could lose their
jobs), it's estimated, depending on how the process pans out, it
could save the company about 700 million rand," said Martin
Kemp, chief executive of South African Airways unit Air Chefs.
He did not clarify whether the amount would be a recurring
or one-time saving.
The airline has not made an annual profit since 2011 and is
grappling with a funding gap of 21.7 billion rand on top of an
ageing fleet of airplanes.
South African officials have been searching for an investor
to take a stake in the airline, but their efforts have so far
been unsuccessful.
The plan to sell to a private investor also faces opposition
from the large trade unions that largely supported President
Cyril Ramaphosa's campaign for the ruling party's presidency in
2017, which paved his path to the top job.
"Our communication to labour and employees is to have this
process finalised by the end of March next year," SAA's Kemp
said.
Unions have already rejected Ramaphosa's plan to split and
trim down state firm Eskom, which is also set start
restructuring in 2020.
The SAA plan is likely to face the same fate amid record
levels of unemployment and economic growth barely topping 1%.