The group sells 36 vehicle brands locally and operates major rental businesses, including Europcar and Tempest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the company’s success in South Africa, it noted that it is under pressure to restructure its operations and rein in costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the end of 2025, Motus initiated a formal retrenchment consultation process in terms of section 189 of the Labour Relations Act, placing 86 employees at risk of losing their jobs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This followed what the company described<\/a> as a reassessment of its \u201coperational requirements\u201d, which showed that \u201ca review and realignment of its South African Retail business and operating structure were necessary\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Motus stressed that the affected roles represent \u201cless than 2% of the overall roles\u201d in its domestic retail division and are \u201cmainly administrative or support functions\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The group added that it \u201cremains committed to finding alternatives to possible retrenchment for the affected employees\u201d and said the consultation process would formally conclude on 31 January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It also pointed out that, regrettable as these role redundancies are, Motus South Africa still recorded a net increase in headcount between June and December 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the retrenchments are only part of the controversy. According to the Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA), a much larger group of employees has been hit by a sweeping restructuring of remuneration and benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MISA spokesperson Sonja Carstens said<\/a> Motus initially indicated that as many as 258 jobs could be cut. \u201cWe managed through consultations to get that figure down to only 86,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carstens said the deeper pain lies with a second group of workers. Another 546 employees are facing cuts to benefits and remuneration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSome of these cuts are up to 29% to 30% of your total cost-to-company package, which is very severe,\u201d Carstens added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MISA argued that Motus\u2019s approach has been too abrupt. According to Carstens, the company maintained that simply closing underperforming dealerships would not be enough to deal with overcapacity and its national wage bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the union believes that a more gradual approach could have reduced the shock to employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cuts come after Motus reported a 1% decline in revenue for the year ended June 2025, with turnover of about R112.6 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLegal battle looming <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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