4Racing offers employees voluntary severance

4Racing offers employees voluntary severance and early retirement packages

30 October 2023

4Racing has embarked on a cost-reduction program aimed at reviewing its workforce and as part of the process is offering employees voluntary severance and early retirement packages.

The company took over the management of the Phumelela business and horse racing assets on 1 December 2021 under business rescue, as a business with a large cost base and declining revenue profile.

Since then, 4Racing has spent considerable time and effort stabilising and assessing the business to optimise products, revenues, and expenses.

In addition, the global and local economic challenges experienced by punters and customers have also added to a challenging business environment.

Earlier this year 4Racing also implemented a new corporate restructure process to streamline the business and highlight areas where there are opportunities for further efficiencies. Being successful in this process is geared to contributing to the business continuing its path to profitability and sustainability.

The next step is to adjust the business expenses to fit the company’s current and future needs, and to enable its success in the longer term. Amongst other initiatives, 4Racing is now starting a cost-reduction program aimed at rightsizing its workforce and is offering employees the opportunity to apply for voluntary severance packages and voluntary retirement for employees who are 55 years of age and above.

Employees have until 10 November 2023 to apply for these packages and 4Racing will assess the applications and consider them on the basis of the operational needs of the business.

Its always sad when I see these things happening as I have been through a similar experience on more than one occasion.

Although a bloated organisation is a problem that has to be addressed it is regrettable that it is often the innocent bystanders that end up carrying the can for the bad management decisions made or important decisions not being made.

Racing cannot continue on this path of destruction where you shrink the company to fit the expense bill rather than growing the company to get there.

It is astounding that we have an industry that has done nothing for at least the last 4 decades to introduce programs to expand the customer base.

As a marketer I am appalled at the lack of vision or willingness to try new ideas no matter how commercially sound they might be.

When racing eventually runs out of its passionate benefactors, and this will happen at some stage, the industry will have nothing to fall back onto as there is no urgency or willingness to start growth initiatives that will make it self sustainable and place it in a position to prosper.

Management should think about what their role actually is and what they can do to turn things around.

I feel for each person and their families that will be affected by this.

I wonder how many ex Phumelela employees who got payouts of one kind or another are now being offered early retirements? . It would be interesting to see the employment register of 4 racing.

ANC,4Racing and Phumelela are very similar.
The people in charge,not the people giving the money,have made their money and couldn't care less what happens in the future.
The Cape Boys have to take over TVL racing also as they are thinking about the future not how they can fill their pockets in the short term.
Sad state our racing for the last 20 years or so.
The quality of KZN racing has become weaker than Bloemfontein and Kimberley combined.
TVL tracks can't have a bird piss on them as racing will be abandoned.
Too many shortcuts being taken to keep themselves in a high paying job till they retire and leave this industry in a total mess.

I think this announcement could NOT have come at a WORSE time !

WE have only just started our Peak season - SUMMER CUP campaign with some sponsored racing last week end - only to have early retirement packages put on the table the following week !

......the writing was on the wall from the outset....all they did was to put the lipstick on the pig....very poor performance no matter how glamourous they tried to make it look.....:S

the big question is - WILL Greg & HOLLYWOOD look way up Northwards to bail out the sinking ship - & PUT US ALL UNDER THE HOLLYWOOD UMBRELLA.

was this ever in their line of thought - I wonder ?

If it continues like this, Hollywood might take over ESKOM………………….

Another ill-conceived presser from 4Q that reiterates their cluelessness. Drivel with the usual jibber jabber.

You know that you are dealing with halfwits when they spend 3 years assessing their business and they come up with a pioneering masterplan to take out a shot gun and offer VSPs. Brilliant, just brilliant.

The global and local economic challenges pale into insignificance in comparison to the limitations of this bunch. They don’t have a freaking clue.

And here is the NEWSFLASH: “the business continuing its path to profitability and sustainability” Is 4Q not a loss making business with absolutely no sign of profitability returning under the current leadership? Very confusing!!!

So where is the BOTTOMLESS PIT OF CASH, 4Q?

Muhtiman wrote:

......the writing was on the wall from the outset....all they did was to put the lipstick on the pig....very poor performance no matter how glamourous they tried to make it look.....:S

And Mary Slack hand picked the leadership bunch, that turned out to also be a drove of pigs that have been feeding shamelessly at the trough for the past 2,5 years and now these pigs want to destroy the livelihoods of employees to justify their existence.

We remember Savage and de Kock doing interviews and singing for their own supper praising Mary Slack for insisting on saving every job. So, whats changed that Mary Slack now wants to punish that unsuspecting employees for the disastrous decision making of Charles Savage, Fundi Sithebe, Colin Gordan and herself?

Is anyone going to get a comment from Mary Slack or perhaps interview her on this disaster?

What is most disturbing about and telling of the attitude of its management ,is that Fundi was not even present at one of Joburg s biggest racedays on Saturday ,but rather spent it at the world cup final .A couple of days later they announce voluntary retrenchment ,which will no doubt be followed shortly with forced retrenchment .It's all just a joke .What happened to leading by example

Timetopaybackthemoney wrote:

What is most disturbing about and telling of the attitude of its management ,is that Fundi was not even present at one of Joburg s biggest racedays on Saturday ,but rather spent it at the world cup final .A couple of days later they announce voluntary retrenchment ,which will no doubt be followed shortly with forced retrenchment .It's all just a joke .What happened to leading by example

This is similar to how our country is run under the ANC!!!