The employment and labour minister Nomakhosazana Meth says she is deeply concerned about the retrenchments that are leading to heavy job losses.
This comes after ArcelorMittal SA (Amsa) announced it would shut down by the end of September, resulting in 3,500 job losses and the loss of a further 100,000 jobs downstream.
Ford Motor Company SA has also announced plans to cut 474 jobs at two of its plants in the country — 391 operator positions at the Silverton assembly plant in Pretoria, 73 at the Struandale engine plant in Gqeberha and 10 administrative roles at both facilities, she said.
Tyre producer Goodyear had also shut down, resulting in the loss of 900 jobs.
“Unfortunately, the department did not receive an application from Goodyear SA and, as a result, we were unable to intervene,” Meth said.
Regarding Amsa, she said the department had led efforts by key stakeholders, including the trade, industry and competition department and the Industrial Development Corporation, to intervene and mitigate job losses at the steel giant.
“A significant funding allocation of R416,838,844.46 from the unemployment insurance fund under the temporary employer/employee relief scheme to support 2,982 employees was secured in May 2025 for ArcelorMittal.
“However, the company is adamant about proceeding with the wind down,” Meth said.
She said Amsa had been unable to secure further funding.
It is unfortunate that we have reached this point with ArcelorMittal, but we remain committed to the intervention strategy.
— Employment and labour minister Nomakhosazana Meth
“In the absence of securing the funding, the UIF [Unemployment Insurance Fund] funding did not materialise as our agreement is conditional upon a company providing a guarantee that they would not effect any retrenchments.
“The primary purpose of our mandate is to preserve jobs; therefore, part of the condition is that companies cannot enter a retrenchment process while undertaking a turnaround strategy.”
Meth said this was why the deal collapsed.
“It is unfortunate that we have reached this point with ArcelorMittal, but we remain committed to the intervention strategy.”
Meth said the sluggish economy, which was due to global factors such as trade wars, higher tariffs and reduced manufacturing, presented huge challenges for the creation and sustainability of jobs.
“The department is working closely with the government’s broader economic cluster to find solutions to the challenges, as the matter requires an intergovernmental and multisector approach, including the business sector, to conquer,” she said.
“While there are some successful programmes implemented currently, we are gravely concerned about the reported job losses in some sectors. These are not just numbers, but people with families and children to support and put through school. We will continue to do everything possible within our mandate to provide the requisite support to struggling companies and contribute to unemployment reduction.”
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