Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) is reportedly planning to cut as many as 680 jobs and shut some plants in South Africa, joining a ...
Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) is reportedly planning to cut as many as 680 jobs and shut some plants in South Africa, joining a slew of international companies trimming operations in the country.
The group confirmed that consultations are underway, but stressed that no final decisions have yet been made.
Speaking to the SABC, the Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU) confirmed receiving notice from the group of its intentions to retrench workers.
According to the group, the company has cited financial constraints as a primary reason for the decision and intends to close plants in Bloemfontein and East London as part of a restructuring.
FAWU said it received notice of a section 189 retrenchment process that would impact up to 680 workers, mostly cleaning staff. This is almost 9% of its 7,700 person workforce in South Africa.
The union said that cleaning staff are integral to the food and beverage production industry.
The SABC, which has seen the notice, reported that the company is offering separation packages to employees as an alternative to “forced separation”.
However, FAWU said that this is unlawful as the offers are being made before consultation with the unions. It added it would challenge the retrenchments.
The union said that it also does not accept the company’s reasoning for the retrenchments, saying it is not pleading poverty but instead wants to “realign the business”.
CCBSA confirmed that it has started consultation processes with workers, and stressed that no final decision has yet been made.
However, it did say that, if implemented, its “adjustments” to it operations could result in job losses.
“In response to evolving industry dynamics, Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa intends to make adjustments to its organisation that, if implemented, may result in some roles being impacted and may unfortunately result in job losses,” it said.
“We have started a consultation process with unions and non-unionised employees who may be impacted. Our priority is to support affected colleagues with fairness, transparency, and compassion during this process. Consultations are underway, and no final decision has been made.”
The potential retrenchments come amid thousands of other jobs being lost in local operations by international giants.
Ford Motor Company South Africa plans to cut 474 jobs at two of its plants, and Goodyear SA’s announced the loss of 900 jobs at its operations.
Retrenchment notices have been sent out by mining giant Glencore, where more than 3,000 jobs could be cut.
The job losses are not only devastating for those directly impacted, but will have a knock-on effect on dependents, families and communities, where tens, if not hundreds of thousands of lives will be hit.
Listing, investment and expansion
Notably, the latest retrenchment move comes just months after CCBSA announced an expansion and investment drive in South Africa.
In July 2025, the group said it had invested R365 million in a new state-of-the-art bottling line capable of producing 72,000 bottles per hour at its plant in Midrand, South Africa.
At the time, the group said that the new line was launched to meet growing consumer demand, and formed part of its wider expansion in the African market.
Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa is the South African-based subsidiary of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA).
Sunil Gupta, CCBA’s Chief Executive Officer, said the group had “ambitious growth plans” in all its markets on the continent.
CCBA was formed in 2015 as a merger of The Coca Cola Company, SAB Miller and Gutsche Family Investments (GFI) bottling operations in Southern and Eastern Africa.
It comprised SABMiller’s Coca-Cola bottling franchise, GFI’s Coca-Cola Fortune in South Africa, and Coca-Cola’s South African soft drinks bottling businesses.
The merger was approved by South African regulators in October 2015, and CCBA began operating as a legal entity in July 2016.
In October 2016, Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) announced it would be merging with SABMiller. In the same month, Coca-Cola Global announced its intention to acquire AB InBev’s stake in CCBA.
Coca-Cola and AB InBev reached an agreement in December 2016 regarding the transition of AB InBev’s equity stake in CCBA, which was concluded in October 2017.
CCBA is now 66.5% owned by Coca-Cola, with the remaining 33.5% held by GFI.
In April 2021, Coca Cola and CCBA announced plans to list CCBA as a publicly-traded company. The global group intends to sell a portion of its shareholding in CCBA via an initial public offering.
FAWU expressed concerns over local operations being sold off to international companies, saying that the groups involved often chase profits at the expense of workers.
This has been evidenced by each merger being followed by a round of retrenchments as soon as any conditional holds lapse, it said.
This article has been updated with comment from CCBSA.
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