Kraatz Marine retrenches staff

Jo-Maré Duddy – Kraatz Marine, part of the Ohlthaver & List Group, has confirmed that 25 of its 92 employees will be retrenched.“The prolonged downturn in the ship repairs industry following the decline of the oil price, coupled with the general depressed economy and significantly reduced engineering demand at the coast, have necessitated drastic measures to downsize Kraatz in order to give this business a fighting chance of survival,” said Patricia Hoeksema, general manager: corporate relations at the O&L Group.“Our people are one of our greatest assets, which is why retrenchment is the last option, after exhausting all other options,” she said. After the redeployment of Kraatz’s skilled employees, 25 positions at the company remain redundant.“Discussions with the affected employees have begun, and options such as early retirement for employees 55 and older are amongst the options being discussed with the affected employees,” Hoeksema said. With regard to the rest of the O&L Group, “businesses that are feeling the strain of the depressed economy are employing the necessary measures to get through these tough times”, Hoeksema said. “In an effort to retain our valuable employees, strategies implemented range from freezing of positions to up-skilling and multi-skilling,” she said.According to the latest annual report of the Employment Equity Commission (EEC), the fishing industry shed 24% of its total workforce from 2016 to 2017. The services of 4 811 people were terminated during the period under review, of which 2 872 were non-renewal of contracts.On 31 March last year, the sector employed 13 265 people in total. Of this, nearly 65% were employed permanently. About 96% of employees in the sector came from the racial disadvantaged group.Of the 20 executive directors in the sector, only four were black – one man and three women. About 42% of the 116 senior managers were previously disadvantaged, while nearly 57% of the 234 people in middle management were black.Only 178 – or 1.3% - of fishing’s entire workforce were foreigners.

Kraatz Marine retrenches staff

Comments

Namibian Sun 2026-05-11

Please login to leave a comment

Kraatz Marine retrenches staff

Comments

Namibian Sun 2026-05-11

Please login to leave a comment

Subscription Required to Access Content ×

Login

Subscription Required to Access Content