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Hundreds of thousands of jobs are at risk before Christmas and into the new year. As many as 800,000 direct and indirect jobs could ultimately be affected if the government does not urgently deliver on its commitments and promises.

Of the 800,000 potentially affected jobs, as many as 300,000 direct and indirect jobs could be at risk from December to early 2026 at South African smelters and other related heavy industries, and another estimated 500,000 in the steel and manufacturing industries. Some of the employers will be forced to finalise their retrenchment processes within the next few weeks, which could affect thousands of workers before Christmas, or begin retrenchment processes that could lead to major job losses in early 2026. 

According to Solidarity, this loss of work is created by government failures. Despite the dark cloud of retrenchments hanging over us, we are experiencing a total lack of urgency from government. Solidarity further says that employers have, for some time, been citing government failures as the main reason for the wave of retrenchments in the energy-intensive industries, especially in the ferrochrome smelters and steel sector.

These sectors’ survival is threatened by unaffordable Eskom tariffs, followed by Transnet’s defective, unreliable and expensive transport and port infrastructure, cheap imports of particularly steel and its dumping, and export tariffs levied against South Africa.

This grim picture and the shocking figures were revealed by employers during a section 77 NEDLAC mediation process between Solidarity and the government on job losses. The employers thereby confirmed Solidarity’s original presentation to NEDLAC and the various government departments.

The employers have given Solidarity permission to publish the figures. These are only employees in the smelting and steel industries. Job losses in other sectors, which include mining, new vehicles and the manufacturing of vehicle components, are not included.

“All the reasons for the retrenchments are government failures that can be addressed. The first and fairly easy win is the electricity tariff structure. Since 2007, electricity tariffs for smelters have increased by 900%, while inflation has increased by 103%. 40% to 60% of the ferroalloy industry’s costs are electricity. The electricity dispensation is destroying the industry with all the downstream industries that follow,” said Dr Dirk Hermann, Chief Executive of Solidarity.

Companies in the smelting industry affected include Ferroglobe SA, Transalloys, Samancor Chrome, Assmang and MMC Nelspruit and Glencore-Merafe.

Many other companies have already been plunged into retrenchment processes or have closed for similar reasons. ArcelorMittal is one such example, with approximately 4,000 direct and indirect jobs having been cut. Manufacturing at Columbus Stainless Steel was also severely affected in 2025, with production reduced by more than 50%.

The downsizing or closure of the ferroalloy industry will also have a huge impact on downstream industries in the steel industry and manufacturing sector, as steel and stainless steel cannot be produced without ferrochrome, manganese alloys and silicon alloys. It also affects the rest of the supply chain through the loss of ore, coal and anthracite that must be supplied by the mining sector, a huge reduction in the demand for electricity from Eskom if all the smelters cease production and a further loss in demand for Transnet's rail and port infrastructure.

FAPA, the Ferro Alloy Producers Association, further indicated that electricity is, on average, supplied at 60% lower cost in countries competing with local manufacturing, such as China, the United States and our neighbouring countries, including Zimbabwe and Angola.

Transnet’s poor performance means that only about 20% of transport to and from smelters is by rail, with road transport having been used almost exclusively for years in most cases. In the case of stainless steel exported to the USA, logistics costs account for as much as 50% to 80% of local production costs. AMSA has scaled back operations and closed certain plants. Ferroglobe’s silicon smelter in Polokwane closed in September 2024, while its ferrosilicon production in Witbank came to a complete halt between April and September. Today, only 40% of capacity remains in operation.

Assmang’s ferromanganese furnaces in Cato Ridge were permanently shut down at the end of May 2025. Transalloys in Witbank was operating at full capacity until recently but is scaling down its production to only 40% from 1 December.

The prospects for a revival at Machadodorp and Meyerton appear unlikely under current economic conditions and electricity prices. While steel production is increasing in neighbouring African countries such as Zimbabwe, and smelters in Angola and Zambia are encroaching on the local market, the government is still searching for solutions. 

Glencore has completely shut down its ferrochrome operations across all of its plants, encompassing 22 furnaces, a move that has already resulted in the loss of 1,500 jobs in Rustenburg and Lydenburg. Samancor has similarly reduced its capacity drastically, with only 4 of its 24 blast furnaces currently in production. Employers are actively engaging with the government in an effort to negotiate solutions and are seeking urgent measures to save this industry, which forms part of the critical mineral sector and is strictly protected elsewhere in the world. 

“This is going to develop into a social crisis. It has been caused by the government, and they must take responsibility. It’s not only companies that are affected, but communities,” said Dr Dirk Hermann.

Yet the message from most of these employers was clear – the deadline for implementing solutions for some employers is the end of November 2025, while it is December 2025 for others.

However, the deadlines was not urgent enough for the government.


Issued by Solidarity General Secretary Gideon du Plessis