Date: Aug 24, 2018
South Africa’s embattled national power utility, Eskom, is set to axe 7 000 employees by the year 2023.
Marion Hughes, a senior manager at Eskom, confirmed the scheduled downscaling to Reuters. During a strategy presentation on the company’s restructuring, Hughes maintained that Eskom’s bloated workforce remained a burden on financial sustainability, saying:
“Eskom intends to reduce headcount from 48,678 to 41,613 by 2023 across all levels through normal attrition.”
According to Business Tech, Eskom currently employs 48,000 workers.
Wage disputes and wastage
The national power utility has had a torrid time in recent years; stuck in perpetual wage disputes which have led to load shedding and posting financial irregularities in excess of R19 billion dating back to the Brian Molefe years.
It’s apparent that Eskom is struggling to stay afloat, and that its sustainability is only guaranteed by continuous government bailouts. Worryingly, this applies to most of South Africa’s state-owned enterprises (SOE).
In an effort to turn the dismal financial tide, Eskom has hinted at a possible investment from a private equity partner. Up until now, the nationalised power supplier has been vehemently opposed to the private sector meddling in their affairs.
