Companies And Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) said their recent data shows that South African companies are retrenching in large numbers due to their inability to operate because of coronavirus and the extended lockdown.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a clear impact on companies large or small, with various government bodies reporting an increase in retrenchment and insolvencies, reports Business Tech.
CIPC commissioner Rory Voller said there was a visible increase of companies applying for business rescue.
Voller said a total of 140 business have submitted rescue applications since the start of the financial year.
In a parliamentary briefing on Tuesday, CCMA national senior commissioner Marius Kotze told the committee that 1,669 cases were brought to the CCMA in April compared with 849 cases to date in May.
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Labour and employment minister Thulas Nxesi said the CCMA had received 17 applications for large-scale retrenchments in terms of section 189 of the Labour Relations Act and 151 smaller applications.
37 of these applications received during the lockdown period alone between March and April.
‘Large’ companies such as Edcon, South African Express, Comair and Phumelelea Gaming have applied for business rescue, however, smaller businesses have been equally impacted by the crisis.
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CIPC has had to relax its time frames around the business rescue process due to the lockdown, having difficulty with meeting stakeholders and reduced staffing capacity.
