THE FP du Toit Group has retrenched 47 workers due to a decline in business.
Group CEO Stephan Terblanche on Friday confirmed the retrenchments to The Namibian, and denied speculation that the group was retrenching hundreds of workers.
The group that consists of FP du Toit Transport, Pro Parcel Distribution, JetX Couriers and Wesbank Transport, has depots across Namibia. This year will be the group's 50th year of operation in Namibia.
"We are very sad that it has come to this. Our workers are very important to us and we try all we can to ensure they are secure.
"Unfortunately, some of our clients have decided not to come on board with us anymore, which has forced us to let go of some of our staff," Terblanche said. He added that Pro Parcel Couriers and FP du Toit Transport were the worst affected.
He explained that the group has been evaluating its operations and customer base for several months now to see where and how business could be improved.
"Unfortunately, we did not get the response from these clients that we hoped for," he said, ascribing the group's declining business to a mushrooming in new logistics companies - including some fly-by-nights. As a result, the group was forced to notify a large number of unprofitable clients that it would end business relations with them by the end of last year.
"All our staff were informed of what we had done and the effect it could have. Only after decisions were made, as to who must go, were the affected staff informed in writing and let go with immediate effect as from the start of the year," said Terblanche.
He said that long-serving staff and those with special skills were transferred to other departments and that it was mostly newer staff who were let go - not empty-handed though, as every retrenched worker received a severance package.
Besides getting their full pay for December, the severance package included one-month notice pay, one-week severance pay for each completed year of service, all outstanding leave pay, medical and pension contributions and any other benefits as per individual contracts. The retrenchment package will be paid at the end of January.
"We completely understand how hard this must be for those affected, especially in these difficult times. It's sad for me too.
"We explored all other avenues to salvage the affected positions, but retrenchment remained the only option to ensure the security of all our other staff," Terblanche concluded.
