SPOORNET is mulling thousands of jobs cuts — up to 27000 according to rail unions — as part of a massive restructuring effort, the company said on Thursday. Unions said they would fight the job cuts by launching strike action from Friday. “Rolling mass action” by some 40000 rail employees is aimed at stopping the parastatal from going ahead with the layoffs, Transport and Allied Workers’ Union president Bonakele Jonas told a news conference in Johannesburg. Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin told Parliament last week that South Africa’s ports and rail networks were next in line for partial privatisation after the recent sale of 20% of South African Airways to Swissair. The South African Footplate Staff Association (SAFSA) claimed on Thursday that Spoornet aims to shed 27000 jobs over the next two-to-three years.