Sibanye carves away over 11,000 jobs in 18 months

Sibanye-Stillwater has carved away more than 11,000 jobs from its workforce in the past year and a half, leaving a lasting mark on communities, families and the broader socioeconomic fabric and setting itself up for long-term sustainability.

“We have restructured the SA region to align with the reduced operating footprint following the necessary operational restructuring for greater regional sustainability and profitability and we are well positioned for ongoing shared value delivery,” CEO Neal Froneman said.

Sibanye is not alone in recalibrating its operational machinery in reflection of the gold mining industry in irreversible decline and the platinum industry facing systemic, rather than cyclical, changes. While SA is still believed to have 68-million ounces of gold reserves, the one-time biggest gold producer in the world has slipped outside the top 10.

In some provinces, a mere six years remain for mining, according to audit and consultancy house PwC, which said the next two decades could witness a gradual ramp down — and in some regions the curtain may fall even sooner — for the sector that brings a staggering R575bn in export receipts and contributes 58% to the country’s total exports.

Sibanye, whose in-sustaining costs, which measure the total cost of producing and sustaining an ounce of gold or other metals, are among the highest in the industry, said the closure of end-of-life shafts and restructuring of loss-making ones led to a reduction of total number of employees and contractors in SA from 81,500 at the end of 2022 to just more than 70,000 today, a 14% reduction.

The latest job losses were at its Beatrix 1 shaft, where 1,241 people lost their jobs after two months of negotiations with labour, under the legally mandated section 189 of the Labour Relations Act. The impact of the negotiations is significant because initially 3,107 employees and contractors were affected by the retrenchment process

Still, the union leaders’ victory may be short-lived. Sibanye agreed to keep the Beatrix Shaft 1 operational on condition that it achieves no net losses on an average trailing three-month basis from the start of June 2024. The mine employs about 500 workers. More than 600 took voluntary severance packages or early retirement, while more than 400 employees accepted transfers to other roles.

As the company streamlines operations, it unwittingly adds to the ranks of those reliant on social welfare. Families who thrived on steady monthly salaries now navigate uncertainty, seeking solace in government social safety nets designed for them and exposing SA’s fiscal constraints.

The mining industry provides formal jobs to nearly 500,000 people, according to Stats SA, contributing to government revenue through corporate taxes, mineral royalties, and individual income tax from employees.

Sibanye said there would have been more jobs cuts over the past 18 months had it not been for the legally mandated consultations with union leaders. The consultations resulted in the implementation of agreed-upon retrenchment avoidance measures.

“It is extremely encouraging that the restructuring efforts undertaken in the SA region have not only successfully and proactively addressed loss-making operations, thereby securing the benefits and value they continue to bring to multiple stakeholders, but through co-operative consultation with stakeholders, limited forced retrenchments to just 8% of total employees impacted since January 2023,” Froneman said.

motsoenengt@businesslive.co.za