SA General Motors staff could face retrenchment

More than 500 people could face retrenchment at General Motors South Africa if the company and the union representing the workers fail to agree on alternative measures to retrenchment.

The 60 day talks between General Motors and the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (Numsa) started on the first of this month. Vehicle sales decreased by 15% during the first half of this year compared with the same period last year.

The company’s communication manager, Denise van Huyssteen, says: “The company and the union together have to explore all the alternatives to retrenchment and only once that process has been concluded and if there aren't other alternatives then we will proceed with retrenchments.

“Typically alternatives would be releasing temporary workers rather than permanent workers or considering options like short-time... if there's overtime, work to stop that. It would be those kinds of alternatives.”