Ster Kinekor has announced that they will be laying off 236 employees and shutting down at least nine cinemas in South Africa.
A statement from the employees of Ster Kinekor said that the company, which is now managed by UK-based Blantyre Capital Ltd and Greenpoint Capital Pty Ltd, had declared plans to engage in the Section 189(3) process after issuing a notice to make 236 previously disadvantaged employees redundant.
The top executives of the company will not be affected.
The departments that the layoffs will impact include staff in the chief executive officer's office, marketing, sales, human capital, information technology, business operations, content, finance, head office, regional operations, and cinemas.
The company’s employees said that despite claiming load shedding as a main reason for the job cuts, 75% of cinemas have generators, and CEO Mark Sardi said last year that the company considers the effects of power shortages on its operations to be temporary.
According to Ster Kinekor employees, the other factor that the company citied as a factor for the retrenchments is the Hollywood strikes.
The company said to employees: “In recent months, the business has suffered a significant decline in attendances.”
The company said that the strike is largely as a result of a challenging economic environment, prolonged and more intense load shedding as well as the impact of the Hollywood strike.
“Ster-Kinekor Theatres has had to review its cost structure to ensure the continued survival and sustainability of its business,” Ster Kinekor said.
According to a Ster Kinekor report, the company will be closing down nine cinemas: three in KwaZulu-Natal, five in Gauteng and one in the Western Cape while a couple of other cinemas are under review.