Job cuts at Karas Abattoir inevitable

THE Managing Director of the Karas Abattoir and Tannery, Frikkie Mouton, yesterday confirmed that between 64 and 80 jobs will be cut as part of a restructuring plan.

“The restructuring is official, there is no doubt about it,” Mouton said. The job cuts were necessitated by the closure of the company’s ostrich-slaughtering line near Keetmanshoop in June.Mouton said the layoffs were scheduled for the end of August.He said the union and company management would meet during the first week of August for consultations.This will be the second time the union and management would consult on the restructuring process, he said.”We had already consulted with the union, but they made a statement denying the consultations,” he said.Workers were notified on Tuesday that the company was “commencing an extensive restructuring exercise”.In an earlier interview, KAT Board Chairman Risto Kapenda said a turnaround strategy submitted to the majority shareholder, the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF), could stave off retrenchments.Yesterday Mouton said if GIPF approved the turnaround plan, it would first have to be implemented and a feasibility study would have to be done before retrenched workers could be re-employed.The turnaround plan is based on converting the ostrich-slaughtering line into a game-slaughtering plant.KAT, previously known as Ostrich Production Namibia (OPN), was bailed out by the GIPF with a loan of N$90 million.In an attempt to rescue the sinking ostrich industry in the South, the Government, through Agribank, pumped in millions of dollars to keep the industry afloat.However, Agribank last year exited the industry, saying the ostrich business was not as viable as had been anticipated.The Agribank report said while prices of ostrich meat remained under pressure, the cost of raising the birds up until slaughter stage were exorbitant.The job cuts were necessitated by the closure of the company’s ostrich-slaughtering line near Keetmanshoop in June.Mouton said the layoffs were scheduled for the end of August.He said the union and company management would meet during the first week of August for consultations.This will be the second time the union and management would consult on the restructuring process, he said.”We had already consulted with the union, but they made a statement denying the consultations,” he said.Workers were notified on Tuesday that the company was “commencing an extensive restructuring exercise”.In an earlier interview, KAT Board Chairman Risto Kapenda said a turnaround strategy submitted to the majority shareholder, the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF), could stave off retrenchments.Yesterday Mouton said if GIPF approved the turnaround plan, it would first have to be implemented and a feasibility study would have to be done before retrenched workers could be re-employed.The turnaround plan is based on converting the ostrich-slaughtering line into a game-slaughtering plant.KAT, previously known as Ostrich Production Namibia (OPN), was bailed out by the GIPF with a loan of N$90 million.In an attempt to rescue the sinking ostrich industry in the South, the Government, through Agribank, pumped in millions of dollars to keep the industry afloat.However, Agribank last year exited the industry, saying the ostrich business was not as viable as had been anticipated.The Agribank report said while prices of ostrich meat remained under pressure, the cost of raising the birds up until slaughter stage were exorbitant.