Reuters reports that a senior manager at cash-strapped Eskom said on Thursday that it expected to have 7,000 fewer staff members in five years’ time.  

“Eskom intends to reduce headcount from 48,678 to 41,613 by 2023 across all levels through normal attrition,” Marion Hughes, a senior manager at the power utility said in a strategy presentation.  Unions representing employees at the state-owned company have said they would resist attempts to cut the workforce and fight moves to privatise the firm.  Eskom has R270bn of state-guaranteed debt, while its total debt is about R390bn.  In July, Eskom said it was considering selling noncore assets and job cuts after swinging to a full-year loss.  The utility was forced to cave in to union demands for higher pay after protesting workers forced some generating units to be switched off, leading to load shedding in July and August.

• Read this report by Ed Stoddard in full at BusinessLive

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