960 of Cell C's 2500 employees will be impacted by the retrenchment consultation process.
Mobile operator Cell C has announced plans to retrench up to 960 employees, stating that the consultation process has already been started. In a statement released on Friday, the company said that its operating model has resulted in a number of inefficiencies that contributed to the operating and financial challenges it was facing. Among those challenges was the defaulted payment of interest on a $184 million (R2.67 billion) loan, which occurred earlier this year.
Cell said it had already revised senior management positions to align with the a new operating model and organisational structure in a process that affected 30 jobs and was concluded in May. The company said it had now “initiated discussions with junior management and semi-skilled staff to implement a restructuring of its operations so as to align the organisation with its new operating model.”
“This current consultation process in terms of Section 189A (2) of the Labour Relations Act advises staff of the possibility of redundancy of certain positions and possible retrenchments,” said the statement. “No final decision has been made and the consultatioan process with affected employees is meant to obtain input for consideration before a final decision is made."