The National Union of Mineworkers NUM has raised concerns about impending job cuts at mining giant Anglo American Platinum Amplats.
Amplats has finalised its retrenchment process which is expected to affect 3 700 jobs across its South African operations.
The retrenchments are part of the companys efforts to mitigate the financial impact of declining platinum group metal prices, which have significantly reduced profit margins.
The job cuts represent about 17 of Amplats workforce, with the most significant impact at Amandelbult in Limpopo.
Khathu Ramufhufhi, NUMs Regional Coordinator at Anglo American Platinum in Polokwane, Limpopo, expressed the unions worries As NUM, we are very worried about the impact of these job losses because our view is that one job loss is one too many. The job losses do not only impact the employees retrenched theyve got a wider impact on the larger society, on the larger economy.