Engineering News reports that Barloworld Automotive had been forced to reduce its headcount by around 1,000 people over an 18-month period, CEO Keith Rankin said on Monday.  

He indicated this at the announcement of the Barloworld results for the year ended 30 September.  The business closed four dealerships in a stagnant new-vehicle market, of which three were General Motors (GM) facilities.  GM pulled out of South Africa in 2017.  The Automotive business also closed BMW Randburg and sold BMW Cape Town.  While the total dealer market in South Africa was up 0.5% in the 2018 financial year, the Barloworld Automotive business saw a 4.9% decline in new-unit sales, impacted largely by declining premium segment sales.  “Twenty per cent of our vehicle sales are in premium brands,” said Rankin.  Barloworld CEO Dominic Sewela said he expected the automotive business to continue facing challenges in 2019, as consumer confidence was low ahead of the elections and SA Inc was “not doing well”.

• Read the full original of this report at Engineering News

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page