Over 4 000 Amplats jobs in jeopardy after 35% metals price tumble
Hit by sharply lower commodity prices, Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) has initiated a restructuring process that could put over 4 000 jobs at risk.
In a shareholder announcement on Monday, the mining company said that the section 189 A process could impact 3 700 jobs, including fixed-term employees, across its South African operations. Amplats has also embarked on a process to review its service providers which stands to affect a further 620 jobs.
The announcement comes after a 35% decline in the company’s platinum group metals (PGM) dollar basket price in 2023 to the lowest level in four years.
Amplats chief executive Craig Miller said the company’s efforts to reposition the business amid the commodity slump “do not go far enough”.
“These actions are necessary to enable the continued employment of thousands of workers and contractors and to share value with our host communities, pay taxes and royalties to governments, as well as procure goods and services from local suppliers,” he added.
Amplats announced on Monday that the company’s headline earnings in 2023 were down 71% compared with the previous year.
Earlier this month, the Minerals Council noted South African PGM miners “are increasingly discussing the need to restructure” amid lower prices and higher input costs. This restructuring has put between 4 000 and 7 000 jobs in jeopardy, according to the mining body.
Last October, Sibanye-Stillwater, South Africa’s biggest mining employer, revealed it was considering closing two end-of-life shafts in its Southern Africa PGM operations. Another two would need to be restructured “to achieve sustainable production” after PGM prices took a nosedive. The proposed restructuring and shaft closures put 4 095 jobs at risk.
In an interview with the Mail & Guardian earlier this month, Sibanye-Stillwater chief executive Neal Froneman said the company was close to wrapping up the restructuring, adding that it had managed to do so with minimal job losses.