Africa-Press – Namibia. NATIONAL rail services operator, TransNamib, has announced its intention to retrench a total of 340 employees following a downturn in business operations, an exercise that will cost over N$44 million to execute.
The CEO of the parastatal, Johny Smith, in a letter penned to the Minister of Public Enterprises, Leon Jooste, stated that through the exercise, the company is targeting a possible 154 employees who are nearing retirement, as well as an additional 186 employees who are currently in non-core business units.
The non-core departments include Road Operations, Vehicle Maintenance, Service Delivery and Terminals, from which TransNamib has exited and will not return.
Smith further note that most of the employees who will be effected are currently being carried by the company in redundant capacities and can be considered excess to the core business, which is Trains Operations, Properties and Engineering, together with supporting services.
“All avenues have been explored, but the company cannot continue to carry the said employees or retain them as there are simply no funds for such initiatives. The company can only afford about 850 employees from its total workforce, which stands at 1 309 employees,” Smith said.
He added that should all 340 targeted employees leave the company as envisaged, the exercise could cost the company N$44 042 088.37 to execute, but would save the company no less than approximately N$25 million per annum on its cost of employment, which currently stands at 71% of incoming revenue.
