BusinessLive reports that Hulamin Extrusions, a division of aluminium group Hulamin Ltd, on Tuesday sent out retrenchment notifications to a number of its workforce.
The subsidiary, which provides aluminium extrusion products, operates out of two plants in Olifantsfontein in Gauteng and Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal and employs about 400 people. In a letter to affected employees, the company said it was considering closing the Olifantsfontein facility and restructuring the Pietermaritzburg plant and support services operations. According to one unofficial source, the company could lay off as many as 200 employees, but this could not be verified. The consultations over the retrenchments are set to commence on Wednesday and will be finalised by 31 July. In the letter, Hulamin said that since 2015 it had consistently underperformed “within an extrusions market that has conversely continued to grow”. The company also cited rising overhead costs for the decision. “If the proposal to close the Olifantsfontein operations is implemented, this will enable the company to free up the property and assets which could then be sold to realise essential cash that could be injected into its operations at Pietermaritzburg and particularly used for critical maintenance and asset replacement,” the company indicated.
- Read the full original of Siseko Njobeni’s report on this story at BusinessLive
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