"Workers were informed (by PBMR chief executive Jaco Kriek) that government would not make further subsidies available for the project and that there were only sufficient operating funds left until April," Solidarity spokesman Jaco Kleynhans said in a statement.
PBMR spokesman Tom Ferreira did concede, in a statement, that "the future of the PBMR is currently being reviewed by government, Necsa and Eskom."
He said a decision on the PBMR would likely be part of the overall Cabinet decision on the country's nuclear new build programme. "Various options are being considered for the PBMR by the PBMR investors, however the choice of option cannot be in isolation of the bigger nuclear new build decision."
The government's nuclear new build decisions include funding models for the various elements of South Africa's nuclear programme.
Solidarity was concerned that most of the company's fixed-term contractors had been informed that their contracts would be cancelled. "We are also concerned that critical skills may be lost in the retrenchment process," said Kleynhans, adding that according to the PBMR, 30 percent of the company's nearly 780 employees had a higher qualification.
The government's reported decision to halt future PBMR funding was in conflict with the nuclear energy policy, he said. "The policy underlined government's objectives to move further away from the use of fossil fuels to nuclear energy and other sustainable sources."
The project team said in a statement that it was "inappropriate" to speculate about retrenchments or the future of government funding at the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) project.
The minerals and energy department could not be reached for comment.
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