South African Airways restructuring to affect nearly 1,000 workers

[JOHANNESBURG] South Africa's troubled state-owned airline on Monday announced a restructuring process that could affect 944 employees and "lead to job losses".

South African Airways (SAA) is deep in debt and has been struggling despite several government bail outs.

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni announced in February that the government would reimburse the company's 9.2-billion rand debt (S$844 million) over the next three years.

"South African Airways has informed all its 5,146 employees that it is embarking on a restructuring process which may lead to job losses," SAA said in a statement.

It said the carrier faced "numerous challenges" including insufficient revenue, volatile fuel prices and mounting debt.

SAA CEO Zuks Ramasia said while it would be difficult to determine the scale of the restructuring, "it is estimated that approximately 944 employees may be affected".

South Africa is struggling to get its state-owned companies back on track after nine years of corruption and mismanagement under former president Jacob Zuma.

The country's embattled power utility Eskom received a US$1.6 billion-a-year bailout in February - partly to deal with maintenance issues and to stave off credit rating downgrades.

SAA's previous CEO Dudu Myeni was recently accused of "illegal practices" and company mismanagement by a commission probing corruption under Zuma.

Myeni, who was removed from her position in 2017, has so far refused to appear in court.

AFP