The Johannesburg labour court has dismissed an application by the Motor Industry Staff Association (Misa) to interdict Motus’s South African Vehicle Retail division (SA Retail) from proceeding with a retrenchment process, or consulting directly with its employees.
“The court’s decision on February 6 provides clarity on the way forward during a challenging period for SA Retail and its employees. SA Retail remains committed to engaging with its employees to explore reasonable alternatives,” said SA Retail CEO Gideon Jansen van Rensburg.
“SA Retail believes this matter could have been resolved through constructive engagement. Instead, SA Retail proposals, which included the re-alignment of incentive structures and company car benefits for administrative and support-related employees as an alternative to forced retrenchment, were not accepted.”
Earlier in January, the labour court had granted Misa an order interdicting the Motus group from retrenching 273 members of Misa. The JSE-listed vehicle importer and retailer has already retrenched 67 employees in various departments, while a further 271 workers were set to be affected by changes to remuneration and benefits, effective January 1.
Misa, the majority trade union in the retail motor industry representing more than 75,000 members, said the applications were aimed at stopping the process and preventing the group from unilaterally changing the terms and conditions of Misa members affected.
Van Rensburg said the number of potentially affected employees has been reduced to fewer than 200, with the changes limited to the restructuring of incentive structures and company car benefits.
“We recognise that this remains a difficult time for affected employees. At all times, we have been committed to exploring reasonable alternatives to minimise the impact on affected employees,” he said.
SA Retail confirmed it has not implemented any unilateral changes to terms and conditions of employment, in line with the court judgment.
The matter relates to SA Retail and a restructuring process that began in July 2025 with the stated objective of ensuring the long-term sustainability of the retail business while minimising the effect on employees. The automotive giant announced a restructuring process in terms of section 189 of the Labour Relations Act on October 9 after reporting a 1% decline in revenue to R112.60bn in the year to end-June. Its operating profit dropped slightly to R5.48bn.
As part of an engagement process, SA Retail put forward a proposal, after an extensive section 189 consultation process facilitated by the CCMA, and SA Retail management voluntarily took up to 30% reductions in cost-to-company
“The re-alignment proposal was tabled as an alternative to further job losses, following ongoing engagements and mitigation measures aimed at reducing the impact on employees. The revised offer was not accepted by Misa and neither had they put forward any alternative proposals,” said Van Rensburg.
SA Retail said the affected employees earn, on average, 160% more than the published Motor Industry Bargaining Council (Mibco) minimum. Should the revised realignment offer, presented as an alternative to retrenchment, be accepted, affected administrative and support employees would continue to earn, on average, 125% above the Mibco minimum.
Van Rensburg told Business Day that a big buying-down shift in the car market had led to lower profits and compelled the company to adapt its cost structures.
He said fixed cost structures had to be aligned with prevailing market conditions as Motus, like many other legacy automotive businesses, had been affected by Chinese vehicle brands gaining market share in South Africa.
“The Chinese have made a big impact all over the world, and they’ve been a big disruptor locally,” he said.
Motus has also added Chinese brands to its extensive network of more than 300 dealerships. It recently acquired the Penta Motor Group dealership in Menlyn selling Chery, Omoda and Jaecoo vehicles as part of its line-up.
In South Africa, SA Retail represents 38 brands, with a new vehicle passenger market share of about 20%.
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