Workers at Tongaat Hulett’s sites, such as Maidstone Mill, could lose their jobs in the company’s efforts to turn its fortunes around.
The company has declined to name the “former executive” against whom it laid charges last month, but three sources with knowledge of the matter have confirmed that Staude, who retired last year after 16 years as chief executive, is said to be next in the firing line. Tongaat Hulett spokesperson Michelle Jean-Louis this week declined to comment beyond confirming that charges had been laid against a former executive, saying that the move was a result of a forensic audit into accounting practices.
Jean-Louis said Tongaat was “reviewing, and reducing, our headcount as part of the broader restructuring of the business to ensure that the company has the right skills and experience to implement our new operating approach”.