tuesday, 16 Feb 2010
Steel & Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa said that South Africa's steel and engineering sector shed over 75 000 jobs in the 10 months between February 2009 and December 2009.

Mr David Carson CEO of SEIFSA said that employment reached a 10 year peak of 399,088 scheduled jobs in February 2009, but then dramatically slumped to 324,236 jobs by December 2009 shedding over 75 000 jobs in 10 months.

This was a reflection of devastating effects of the global economic slowdown and was no different to the national experience, where South Africa's formal sector shed nearly a million jobs during the first 3 quarters of the year.

Mr Carson said that "There can be little doubt that business in South Africa faces an unusually difficult and uncertain year ahead. The events of the past year have left the world a very different place from what it was two years ago."

Examining the challenges that lay in the year ahead, Mr Carson said that the past year witnessed the devastating effects of the most severe global economic meltdown since the formation of SEIFSA in 1943.

He added that "Our industry has weathered a number of recessions of varying intensity over this long period of time, but the global economic crisis and its significant impact on the national economy and on manufacturing in particular, was particularly deep and severe."

He said that by the first quarter of last year, the vast majority of SEIFSA member companies were forced to implement extensive short-time working arrangements across all occupational categories and skill levels. He added that "By mid year, large scale retrenchments were the order of the day as companies fought to remain financially viable in the face of extreme trading conditions. We hope that the worst of the extreme operating conditions in industry and job losses will gradually come to an end."

He further added that "Nevertheless, it is anticipated that short-time working arrangements will still be a feature for at least the first half of the year, with industry employment remaining under considerable pressure."