The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is considering a major restructuring of its sales division, which could result in the retrenchment of up to 180 sales staff as it seeks to navigate ongoing financial difficulties.
In light of recent reports concerning potential layoffs, the SABC responded with a statement on Thursday, 14 August 2025, outlining its new sales operating model.
“The Corporation is not engaged in a process aimed at reducing headcount in the sales division. Instead, it has initiated an organisational design review to ensure that the sales division meets its operational needs,” the statement read.
“The goal of this review is not to cut jobs but to realign roles, reorganise functions, and enhance efficiencies to better support our mandate and commercial objectives.”
The broadcaster clarified that the final structure may either maintain or even expand the current number of sales positions, depending on the outcomes of ongoing consultations.
The SABC confirmed that “all impacted employees will have the opportunity to apply for roles within the new structure. “
Despite the Corporation’s assertions that the restructuring is not about reducing workforce numbers, broadcasting journalist Thinus Ferreira reported that the restructuring could lead to the elimination of 180 positions within various sales departments, including enterprise sales, corporate sales, government sales, SMME sales, digital sales, sales operations, and Ad-venture sales.
If these changes proceed, affected employees would have their last working day on 28 November 2025.
The broadcaster informed the Broadcast, Electronic, Media, and Allied Workers Union (BEMAWU) that these potential job cuts are part of an anticipated restructuring strategy to confront financial challenges and ensure the organisation’s long-term viability.
It indicated that the sales division’s underperformance has adversely affected the SABC’s sustainability, prompting the need for these restructuring efforts, despite exploring alternative cost-cutting measures.
Importantly, roles related to TV licensing are expected to remain unaffected by this retrenchment process.
The SABC has undergone significant job cuts in 2020 and 2021, resulting in hundreds of employees leaving, particularly in the publicity division.
In June 2020, an internal document titled “Reimagine the SABC through a new operating model” surfaced. It highlighted retrenchment plans to reduce the salary bill by US$39 million to create a more sustainable organisation amid declining advertising revenues.
The document emphasised the necessity of reducing employee compensation by US$39 million to achieve financial balance for the current fiscal year.
The South African government blocked previous attempts by the SABC to implement staff cuts; notable plans included the retrenchment of 981 permanent employees and 1,200 freelancers in 2018, and a proposal in 2019 to close five offices and cut a third of its workforce—issues that saw government intervention preventing their realisation.
Instead, the SABC relied on taxpayers’ US$181 million bailout to sustain its operations.
The broadcaster’s June 2020 restructuring plan included introducing a new “Target Operating Model” to achieve financial stability and self-sufficiency in response to an ongoing economic downturn, evolving consumer preferences, and rapid technological changes.
The newly developed model sought to help the SABC reinvent itself, review its business methods and revenue portfolio, and reassess input costs and resource capacities. Former CEO Madoda Mxakwe stated that the strategy was crucial for ensuring the long-term viability of a resilient and sustainable public broadcaster.
