Telkom subsidiary BCX has blamed looming job cuts at the ICT services company on the weak economy, saying there’s little sign of a short-term pick-up in demand from businesses.
A Telkom spokeswoman told TechCentral on Thursday that it has served a section 189 notice in terms of the Labour Relations Act on all registered unions that have employees at BCX. These are the South African Communications Union, the Communication Workers Union, Solidarity, ICTU, Mwasa, Numsa and Giwusa.
“Our business has been severely impacted by the technical recession,” said BCX CEO Jonas Bogoshi in e-mailed remarks. “We expect the reduction in IT spend that we have seen to continue as our customers look to find ways to protect their own profitability.”
Telkom said the serving of the section 189 notice means it intends to consult and explore alternatives to avoid or minimise retrenchments.
“The process is facilitated by the CCMA and will start on the 21 November, subject to CCMA availability,” the company said.
BCX currently employs in the region of 8 050 people. — © 2018 NewsCentral Media