Sibanye-Stillwater will enter into with organised labour and other representatives of affected non-unionised employees, regarding the proposed restructuring of its South African gold operations and its Southern Africa region services functions.
The move will reduce direct operational services costs and regional overhead costs, which are allocated to the operations, thereby contributing to the sustainability of the Southern African region.
The proposed restructuring of the operations and services could potentially affect 3,107 employees and 915 contractors, it said.
It said the ongoing group business review has identified a need to address losses at the Beatrix 1 shaft, which has been unable to deliver planned production, and the Kloof 2 plant which, after the closure of the Kloof 4 shaft last year, has had insufficient processing material available to cover overheads.
Sibanye-Stillwater said the deferral of capital expenditure at the Burnstone project also requires restructuring aligned with the reduction in planned capital activities.
“The reduction in the operational footprint in the Southern Africa region, due to the recent restructuring and closure of loss-making shafts and from proposed future restructuring or closures, has resulted in the capacity of the direct and shared services functions for the SA region and operations being surplus to current and future requirements,” it said.
“As a result, the company proposes a re-alignment of the regional services, shared services and direct services structures to align with the requirements of the reduced operational footprint.”
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
