Since the start of September 2025, South Africa has been hit by a devastating wave of job losses across key sectors, threatening the livelihoods of thousands and pushing unemployment deeper into crisis territory. According to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey, the country lost a staggering 291,000 jobs in the first quarter of 2025 alone, sending the official unemployment rate soaring to 32.9% — with youth unemployment around 46%.(IOL)
Amid these grim statistics, five major corporations stand out for their scale of closures or retrenchments. Here’s a closer look at what’s unraveling and why:
1. ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA)
AMSA is steering through its biggest crisis in years. The steelmaker is preparing to shut down its unprofitable long-steel operations in Newcastle and Vereeniging by the end of September, immediately affecting approximately 3,500 direct jobs. However, downstream industries could see up to 100,000 more positions vanish.(Reuters, IOL, BusinessTech)
AMSA’s woes are rooted in a mix of high electricity costs, weak domestic demand, logistic hurdles, and competition from cheap imports, particularly from China. A half-year loss of about 1 billion rand (~USD 56 million) underscores how unrelenting market pressures and operational inefficiencies have cornered the steelmaker.(Reuters) Amid stalled negotiations with both the government and the IDC, AMSA’s attempts to restructure or sell its operations appear to be faltering.(Reuters)
2. Glencore’s Ferrochrome and Vanadium Operations
Miner Glencore has initiated a retrenchment process at its Rustenburg ferrochrome smelters and Rhovan vanadium operations. The company has already shuttered 10 out of 22 furnaces and is considering reducing the Lion smelter by half.(Reuters, Salabour News)
If further closures go ahead, reports suggest the potential retrenchment of 2,425 direct and 17,000 indirect jobs, not to mention the devastating impact on workers’ families.� (Reuters, BusinessTech) Key pressures include soaring power prices, load-shedding, and a business environment undercut by inefficient logistics and regulatory challenges.(BusinessTech, Daily Investor, Reuters)
3. Aspen Pharmacare
The pharma giant Aspen Pharmacare has placed 923 jobs at risk in a new wave of retrenchments, following the earlier closure of its eyedrops facility in Gqeberha that saw 134 positions eliminated.(The Herald) A combination of restructuring, market pressures, and operational rationalization appears to be behind these redundancies.
4. Ford Motor Company South Africa
Ford has announced plans to cut 474 jobs—391 roles at its Silverton Assembly plant in Pretoria, 73 at the Struandale engine plant in Gqeberha, and 10 administrative posts at both locations.(Department of Labour, IOL)
These cuts reflect broader structural challenges in the automotive sector: low localisation levels, sluggish domestic demand, and punitive U.S. export tariffs (as high as 30%) that hamper competitiveness.(TopAuto, TimesLIVE) The sector has already seen more than 4,000 job losses and 12 company closures over two years.(TimesLIVE)
5. Goodyear South Africa
Goodyear’s tyre plant in Kariega has been shuttered as part of a global restructuring initiative, resulting in roughly 900 job losses.(Department of Labour, IOL) The Department of Employment and Labour highlighted its inability to intervene due to the absence of a formal application from Goodyear SA for government support.(Department of Labour)
Driving Forces Behind the Jobs Crisis
Several systemic factors are converging to drive these closures and retrenchments:
- Energy Crisis & Load-shedding — Rampant power outages and escalating electricity tariffs continue to squeeze productivity and profitability across energy-intensive industries.(Daily Investor, TopAuto, Wikipedia)
- Underperforming Infrastructure — The collapse of rail and port efficiency, particularly in Transnet, is increasing costs and export delays, especially devastating for mining and manufacturing sectors.(Daily Investor, Engineering News)
- Unfavorable Trade Policies — U.S. tariffs on key exports like vehicles, sugar, and likely others are eroding market access and pricing power.(Reuters, TimesLIVE, TopAuto)
- Macroeconomic Headwinds — Persistent inflation, high interest rates, and reduced consumer spending are squeezing margins and investment capacity, even in retail and services.(BusinessTech, Reuters)
- Weak Government Support — While interventions like UIF funding and IDC injections exist, they’re often conditional, delayed, or insufficient to forestall closures. As seen in AMSA’s case, failed deals lead directly to retrenchments.(BusinessTech, Reuters)
Conclusion
And so the jobs bloodbath continues: massive job cuts in steel, mining, pharma, manufacturing, and tyres are rippling through an already fragile economy. As nearly a third of the workforce remains unemployed — and youth joblessness climbs even higher — the social and economic costs are severe.
Unless urgent, coordinated interventions arrive—targeting energy stability, infrastructure upgrades, export competitiveness, and strategic industrial support—South Africa risks a prolonged slog through economic stagnation and rising poverty.
These are not just statistics; they represent shattered livelihoods, faltering families, and an economy at a breaking point.