Effective strategies urgently needed to stem Nelson Mandela Bay jobs bloodbath
The news that Goodyear is shutting down its manufacturing plant in Gqeberha, with the concomitant loss of more than 900 jobs, is a shocker and has far-reaching implications for the workers affected and the Eastern Cape as a whole.
The absolute devastation it has wrought on the lives of the hundreds of families still struggling to comprehend the grim and unexpected announcement is impossible to comprehend. It was a bolt from the blue.
Just four months ago, ContiTech similarly announced it was shutting down its conveyor belt operation in Kariega, with 125 job losses.
That is more than 1,000 jobs lost in the matter of a few months. And as unemployment in the province creeps up to 40%, the future of the newly jobless is bleak, with the prospects of them finding other work quickly slim.
One day they had stable jobs, decent incomes and promising futures, the next, their lives were upended as they stared unemployment and an uncertain future in the face.
One employee broke down in tears, saying of the Goodyear announcement: 'Do they have children? Do they have communities? Because they have f***ed up a whole community.'
Another employee said he would have to move his daughter out of the school she was in to one where the monthly rate was cheaper. He had also just bought a new car last year which he was now at risk of losing.
The Goodyear saga is another indication of a manufacturing sector in crisis in SA.
In both cases, low-cost imports have played a big role in the closures.
In May, Aspen also revealed that 134 jobs were on the line due to the closure of its eyedrops production facility in Gqeberha.
VW Group Africa managing director Martina Biene hit the nail on the head on Friday when she said every business closure in the city spelt disaster.
High labour costs and cheap imports are two of the factors affecting the sustainability of businesses in SA.
Municipal service delivery issues, including electricity, water and sanitation challenges, and high tariffs are others.
But what is the government doing to counter this and to keep the manufacturers in SA?
What is being done locally to support the manufacturers here, the lifeblood of Nelson Mandela Bay?
This city cannot afford any job losses, let alone such a huge number.
It needs to up its game urgently and come up with strategies and effective measures to assist and retain these businesses in the Bay.
The Herald
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