Communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams said on Thursday that she will meet urgently with Telkom management to discuss the company’s plan to let go of as many as 3 000 employees.
In a brief statement, the minister said she has “noted with concern” the developments at Telkom and has “scheduled an urgent meeting” with the company “to be fully briefed on the matter”.
“Further communication will be made in due course,” she said.
Government owns 40.5% of Telkom’s equity and is its largest shareholder.
Telkom informed trade unions, including Solidarity and the Communication Workers Union, on Wednesday that it had to institute the job cuts in its Openserve and consumer divisions to manage costs.
If it retrenches the complement of 3 000 employees, it would reduce its total staff complement by 20%.
The planned job cuts come in the same week that Massmart announced it would close its various stores, including the entire DionWired franchise, and that 1 400 positions could be affected as a result. — (c) 2020 NewsCentral Media