British American Tobacco South Africa says it has started a Section 189 retrenchment process which could impact 200 jobs at the company.
It said that it has had to restructure due to further losses in cigarette volumes in South Africa, which it blames on the rise of the illicit market in the country – exacerbated by the 2020 lockdown and ban on cigarette sales in the country. The government, spearheaded by cooperative governance minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, banned cigarette sales from April to August 2020 in a purported bid to save lives and prevent the spread of Covid-19. The decision was not backed by any scientific evidence and was later deemed by the courts as unnecessary and unconstitutional.
Based on studies, BAT estimates that the illicit cigarette trade accounts for up to 70% of South Africa’s total cigarette market.