The Zimbabwean division of Impala Platinum Holdings is implementing voluntary redundancy packages for its employees as a cost-cutting measure in response to the depressed metal prices.
Zimplats chief executive Alex Mhembere said in a staff circular dated March 18 that the voluntary retrenchment exercise for all employees wishing to be considered may “mitigate the need for a compulsory retrenchment.”
“We have been working with all teams across the board in implementing various cost containment and cash preservation programmes,” said Mhembere.
“I am confident that as a team we will successfully navigate through the headwinds.”
Zimplats, the largest producer of platinum group metal (PGMs) in Zimbabwe, is offering its employees a minimum of three months' salary.
Weak PGMs prices are projected to persist for the next 12 to 18 months.
Several thousand positions have already been eliminated in neighbouring South Africa, which is home to about 70% of the world's platinum output.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
