Abstract:
This study investigated and explored how retrenchment is communicated in the South
African mining sector through a qualitative analysis of corporate documents such as
annual reports, press statements, and news releases. The mining sector in South
Africa has been retrenching employees for years now, which makes it important to
explore the framing of their messages and communication strategies employed during
retrenchment. The study applied Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) to
retrenchment communication, highlighting the importance of adapting communication
strategies to a crisis. The theory suggests that companies should prioritise
transparency, empathy, and stakeholder engagement to minimise the negative
impacts of retrenchment. The study followed the methodology of document analysis
to collect data and textual analysis to analyse the data collected. The study revealed
that mining corporations tailor their messages using various communication strategies
when announcing retrenchment news to various stakeholders and frame their
messages using transparent, empathetic, and supportive language. The findings
contribute to the development of communication strategies for the mining sector in
enhancing organisational reputation, employees’ well-being, and sectoral
sustainability. The study recommends that companies must always prioritise
transparency and empathy when communicating during retrenchment. They must also
provide support for the retrenched employees. These findings highlight significant
gaps in transparency, empathy, and stakeholder engagement, perpetuating the
negative impacts of retrenchment on affected employees
