Zimplats, Zimbabwe’s leading platinum producer, is set to reduce its workforce by 1% as part of comprehensive cost-reduction measures in response to a significant decline in platinum group metal (PGM) prices, according to CEO Alex Mhembere. The move follows the company’s announcement in March about offering voluntary job cuts to mitigate falling revenues.
The downturn in PGM prices, attributed to reduced auto production and concerns over a global economic slowdown, has prompted several Southern African PGM miners, including Zimplats’ parent company Impala Platinum, Sibanye Stillwater, and Anglo American Platinum, to implement cost-cutting strategies, resulting in substantial job losses.
Speaking at a PGM mining conference in Johannesburg, Mhembere emphasized that job cuts were not the sole solution for sustaining the business. Zimplats, which employs around 8,000 individuals, aims to maintain its annual production at approximately 600,000 PGM ounces by enhancing productivity and containing costs.
Moreover, Zimplats is adjusting its expenditure on a 10-year, $1.8 billion expansion plan unveiled in 2021, adopting a “capital light” approach for the upcoming financial year starting in July. The focus will be on replacement capital expenditure and minimal growth-related spending, with projects like sulphur abatement and the second phase of a solar power plant being deferred.
Regarding Zimbabwe’s introduction of a new gold-backed currency to replace the inflation-impacted Zimbabwe dollar, Mhembere stated that Zimplats, which operates in US dollars, does not anticipate any negative impact on its operations from the local currency change. 
