• Sibanye Stillwater announced another round of retrenchment talks for its SA gold operations, which could affect more than 4 000 employees and contractors.
• The possible cuts follow existing processes, while the group says its Beatrix 1 shaft hasn't been able to deliver on planned production.
• The company had cut more than 1 000 jobs during a process concluded in December, though this was well below the number affected by the talks.
• For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.

Diversified commodities group Sibanye Stillwater said on Thursday it was embarking on another round of retrenchment talks at its SA gold operations that could affect about 4 000 employees and contractors.

Further to previous restructuring concluded during 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, the ongoing group business review has identified a need to address losses at the Beatrix 1 shaft, which has been unable to deliver planned production, it said in a statement.

It is also looking to cut at its Kloof 2 plant which, after the closure of the Kloof 4 shaft during 2023, has had insufficient processing material available to cover overheads.

Sibanye had about 81 500 employees, including contractors, in its SA operations as of 2022, with about 30 500 in its gold operations and 46 400 in its platinum group metal (PGM) operations. Beatrix, located in the Free State, had about 7 900 employees and Kloof, which is in Gauteng, had just over 10 000 in total.

The proposed restructuring of the operations and services could potentially affect 3 107 employees and 915 contractors, it said on Wednesday.

In December, the group announced it had retrenched 575 employees from its Kloof 4 shaft following a consultation process that commenced in September. In a process that affected almost 2 400 employees, 550 also accepted voluntary separation or early retirement packages.

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The group had also cut another 348 employees from across other gold operations, but 1 057 employees accepted transfers to fill vacant positions at its operations.

The cuts also affected 581 contractors, with some employees and contractors to be temporarily retained during decommissioning.

READ | Sibanye-Stillwater cuts over 1 000 gold jobs at its Kloof mine

Sibanye-Stillwater acquired Kloof in February 2013, when Gold Fields unbundled most of its SA gold mines to the new company, along with five other marginal mines in Gauteng and the Free State.

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