Motus says its proposal is a viable alternative to forced retrenchments

So says the SA Vehicle Retail ("SA Retail"), a division within Motus Holdings Limited (Motus), in a statement that saw the Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA), declaring a dispute with the motoring group on this issue.

Accordingly, the Company can confirm that it has been able to substantially reduce the initial number of employees expected to be impacted by the re-alignment process by more than 250 employees (44%). This has seen the overall number of impacted employees reduced from 570 to 318.

The reduction is because of ongoing engagements and mitigation measures implemented by SA Retail, the statement reads.

The re-alignment of incentive structures and company car benefits was separate from the earlier concluded retrenchment of 67 employees.

The revised offer tabled with MISA as an alternative to forced retrenchments, includes the following:

• No adjustments will be made to basic salaries, apart from senior management who agreed to salary reductions of up to 30% from August 2025.
• The re-alignment process excludes employees earning below R15 000 per month.
• SA Retail will only re-align incentive structures and company car benefits for administrative and support-related employees in line with industry benchmarks, and by less than 20% of total remuneration.

SA Retail would like to confirm that potentially affected employees currently earn on average 160% above the published Motor Industry Bargaining Council in South Africa (MIBCO) minimum. Should the revised re-alignment offer, which is an alternative to retrenchment, be accepted, the affected administrative and support-related employees will still be earning on average 125% above the MIBCO minimum.

SA Retail, meanwhile, notes that MISA has filed an urgent Labour Court interdict against what it claimed was the unilateral change in employment conditions of 275 SA Retail employees.

SA Retail CEO, Gideon Jansen van Rensburg, confirmed "there have not been any changes to conditions of employment or benefits, and all employees were paid their full salaries and incentives on the 23rd of January 2026".

To date, the revised offer has not been accepted by MISA and neither have they put forward any alternative proposals.

He adds that SA Retail remains committed to ongoing engagement with MISA and to maintaining a transparent process, with the aim of finding workable solutions that minimise the risk of further job losses.