Less than a month into 2020, South African companies have already announced thousands of job cuts. In a country where a third of the labour force is already unemployed, this will put even more strain on demand and economic growth. Almost 8 000 jobs are at risk as companies including Telkom, the country’s largest fixed-line operator, and Walmart’s local unit Massmart Holdings plan to reduce their headcount after slumps in earnings. That’s after Sibanye-Stillwater cut positions at its Marikana operations as part of restructuring plans and Glencore issued a notice of possible reductions at its Rustenburg ferrochrome smelter.