Mimosa ‘sends home’ 33 managers

Platinum miner Mimosa has embarked on a staff rationalisation exercise, which has affected 33 managerial and supervisory employees, NewsDay can report.

The exercise, according to the company, was done to ensure that the business remains viable given the depressed metal prices.

Metal prices have been on a downward trend since April 2023 and remain depressed to date.

The metal price decreased by up to 35% during this period which has had a negative impact on cash flow and profitability.

“The outlook is that the prices will remain depressed in the medium term. In view of this, we have had to implement several measures to ensure that our business remains viable in the low-price metal environment,” Mimosa said in a media update yesterday.

“These measures include capital expenditure curtailment, cost reduction and cash conservation initiatives. It has also been necessary to review our staffing structures to optimise these considering the prevailing environment.

This has resulted in a staff rationalisation exercise which has affected 33 managerial and supervisory employees.”

The platinum miner said a voluntary separation package was offered to 24 of the offloaded employees, while nine opted for early retirement. No further rationalisation of the permanent staff complement is planned at this stage, it said.

“People remain the most important part of our business, as they define who we are, and are the primary source of our success,” Mimosa said.

The miner said it had engaged its employees in all the processes “we have been implementing in order to maintain morale and continue to achieve all our production targets”.

NewsDay