Urgent call for crisis summit on job losses in South Africa

A crisis summit on job losses is something that South Africa urgently needs in light of the recent spate of retrenchments across the country, says the chairperson of Parliament’s Select Committee on Economic Development and Trade, Sonja Boshoff.

She has urged the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, to convene such a summit amid mass retrenchments and downsizing by big companies, which has become “far too routine” in South Africa.

“We do not need another national dialogue talk shop. Our economy is stagnant and paralysed by contradictory policies. Workers and communities are counting on decisive leadership,” Boshoff said.

“These job losses are too many, too frequent, and under too much avoidable pressure. We must act now, not just to protect livelihoods, but to safeguard South Africa’s industrial future,” she added.

The proposed summit should bring together affected companies, trade unions, and government, provincial, and local, to find urgent solutions.

“Policy levers to protect jobs must be on the table. Relief on electricity and freight costs for vulnerable manufacturers, faster support for localisation, stronger interventions in the steel and automotive industries, and trade remedies against unfair imports, all need urgent consideration,” she added.

Regions that are hardest hit, such as Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, and Free State, require targeted economic stimulus as well as labour absorption programmes and infrastructure interventions in order to attract investment, Boshoff said.

She also called for changes to the Section 189/189A consultation process that will ensure greater transparency as well as proper engagement with workers, fair severance, and more retraining and redeployment opportunities.

The call comes amid mass job cuts implemented recently across numerous sectors. ArcelorMittal, for instance, plans to cut 4,000 roles, while Goodyear’s closure of the Kariega plant will see 900 employees retrenched. Coca-Cola recently announced its intention to cut around 680 jobs, amid flagging demand, while Ford SA is cutting over 470 positions.

Data released by Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey, shows a staggering loss of 291,000 jobs across the country during the first quarter of 2025. These include 194,000 trade jobs, while construction lost 119,000 positions and mining declined by 35,000.

This caused South Africa’s official unemployment rate to climb by one percentage point to 32.9%.

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