The announcement was made by Nonkqubela Jordan-Dyani, director-general in the department of communications digital technologies, in a presentation to parliament on Wednesday. She said that Takealot is looking to make around 18 000 new hires.
"We have an agreement with Takealot in place," Jordan-Dyani told MPs. "The agreement says Takealot will onboard the previously retrenched Sapo Post Office members on top of that, there is still an opportunity for the recruitment of South African citizens for the delivery of parcels."
The Post Office was placed into business rescue in July 2023. According to the rescue plan, it had debts of R4.5-billion, with R3.9-billion owed to Postbank and about R400-million owed in rental arrears. Part of the plan included retrenching some 6 000 postal workers.
By April 2024, 4 870 retrenchment letters had already been issued. A plan to tap into the Unemployment Insurance Fund's Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme Ters to save these jobs led to a majority of the retrenchment letters being rescinded.
The Ters plan did not last long, however. A week after the announcement, business rescue practitioners Anoosh Rooplal and Juanito Damons announced their application had been unsuccessful, and nearly 5 000 workers were let go.