Eskom denies race-based retrenchments

Eskom does not have a policy of retrenching employees based on race, the parastatal said on Monday.

"Instead, a principle of natural attrition has been used when certain positions became vacant," the company said in a statement.

"Eskom has, and continues to recruit new engineers and technicians without discrimination."

According to an article in Sunday's Rapport, Eskom had to reduce the number of white engineers and artisans at the company to comply with new government requirements. The number of white engineers reportedly had to be reduced by 1081, and white artisans by 2179.

The new directives reportedly required Eskom to ensure these two job categories become "completely reflective of the national and regional demographics" by 2020.