Fin24 reports that dairy group Clover has confirmed to the Competition Tribunal that it was planning to cut 277 jobs ahead of a R4.8bn takeover deal.  

A consortium led by Tel Aviv-based Milco wants to acquire 100% of Clover.  In a submission to the Tribunal last week, Clover said it expected to cut 277 jobs in a process called Project Sencillo, which it said had no link with the proposed Milco deal.  The company launched Project Sencillo in 2017 in a bid to improve operational efficiency.  "Initially, the net effect of retrenchments arising from Phase 2 of Project Sencillo was limited to a maximum of 516.  The revised submissions will limit the net effect of retrenchments to a maximum of 277 positions," Clover advised.  In the case of approval of the takeover, Clover has reached an agreement with Milco not to retrench any employee as a result of Project Sencillo for a period of two years from the date of the approval of the transaction, and to keep the number of job losses to a minimum.  Milco has undertaken to create 550 new permanent jobs over a period of five years from the approval of the deal through the expansion of Clover's Masakhane Project, which involves servicing underserved markets such as general traders and spaza shops.  Cosatu and the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu) are opposing the takeover deal.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Fin24

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