WEDNESDAY, 10.30AM
TRANSNET’s container and parcel transport service PX, currently undergoing massive restructuring including halving staff numbers, has developed huge delivery backlogs as a result.
PX chief Nico Heyns said an emergency management meeting was held on Tuesday to find ways to address the backlog, estimated to be about 250 000 parcels. “The restructuring has meant about 4 000 of PX’s 8 650 employees are being retrenched, and this has obviously caused a few hiccups with delivery systems. We are now trying to source additional manpower and make other arrangements to deal with the delivery backlog,” said Heyns.
PX executive director Joe Ndhlela has in the past said PX is unlikely to turn a profit before 2000, with a projected loss this year of R475-million. However, analysts believe the loss could top R550-million if only a fraction of PX staff take retrenchment packages. Any additional losses suffered by PX will hit parent Transnet’s bottom line, already under pressure from SA Airways’ expected R350-million projected loss this year and the costs of Transnet’s massive pension fund deficit.
Transnet MD Saki Macozoma expressed confidence that PX could be turned around in 1997 when he presented the 1996 results.