Harmony says 11 780 jobs could be lost
May 20, 2005
By Nicky Smith
Johannesburg - Harmony Gold said yesterday that as many as 11 780 jobs could be lost at its Free State mines.
Harmony announced restructuring that would cover its operations in Welkom and Virginia. Bernard Swanepoel, Harmony`s chief executive, said the `delaying tactics` of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) had exacerbated the need to restructure the operations.
The company`s first priority was to ensure `as many jobs as possible are saved while at the same time ensuring the long-term profitability of Harmony`.
`We will obviously look at all the alternatives to forced retrenchments, like voluntary retrenchment and other measures ... But in order to minimise losses and retain the optionality of our reserves, it is possible that as many as 11 780 people approximately 45 percent of our Free State workforce, could be affected,` Swanepoel said.
Moferefere Lekorotsoana, the NUM`s spokesperson, said: `They have just made it public that they have declared war.
`We [labour] built this company Harmony, we will take it down,` he said.
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