KZN MEC to make ‘important announcement’ on possible 500 job losses

Amid fears of closure and a possible layoff of 500 workers‚ KwaZulu-Natal economic development MEC Sihle Zikalala is set to make an important announcement regarding further possible job losses in the already struggling Hammersdale industrial area outside Pietermaritzburg.

After 1‚200 workers were laid off by the RCL Foods-owned Rainbow Chicken in February in a bid to stay afloat after years of fighting cheap chicken imports from the EU‚ Brazil and the US‚ there are now fears that hundreds more local workers could also lose their jobs at Glodina Black Label in Hammersdale.

The textile manufacturing company provides employment to hundreds of locals in the industrial area which has shed thousands of jobs over the years.

Like other companies that have struggled in what was once regarded as the textile capital of the province‚ Glodina has experienced financial difficulties in the past few years which almost brought it to the brink of collapse.

In June‚ Gary Chaplin‚ CEO of Glodina's holding company‚ Kap Industrial Holdings‚ confirmed that about 500 employees could lose their jobs after the company failed to make any profits for two years.

Since then the company‚ which produces quality towels and supplies the hospitality industry and top SA retailers‚ has been engaged in consultations with its employees and other stakeholders in terms of the Labour Relations Act regarding its possible closure or sale.

This jolted Zikalala into action and he dispatched officials from his department to engage with the company’s senior management in a bid to save jobs.

The department said Zikalala had intervened with a view to coming up with a solution to save close to 500 jobs that would be lost if Glodina Black Label were to cease operating.

On Sunday‚ the department said that Zikalala is set to make a "major announcement" on Tuesday regarding Glodina's operations.

The important announcement will be made at the company's premises in Hammersdale‚ west of Durban.