Some 1440 Jobs On The Line As Massmart Initiates Moves To Shut 34 DionWired & Masscash Stores

Riyaz Patel

Retail giant Massmart, which has Game, DionWired and Makro in its stable, announced Monday it’s consulting with employees about the potential closure of 34 stores.

Massmart, one of SA’s biggest retailers, is the second company to announce possible store closures in 2020, a move that could affect up to 1440 employees.

“The Massmart Group has recently conducted a store optimisation project that highlighted a number of underperforming stores in its portfolio. Consequent to this project the Massmart Group seeks to advise shareholders that Massmart has commenced, a potential store closure consultation process,” the group said in a statement.

This news comes shortly after SA’s largest clothing retailer, Edcon, announced the closure of its Edgars store in Rosebank Mall.

Massmart said it has already begun talks under section 189 of the Labour Relations Act, a process that companies undertake when they intend to retrench staff.