EFF shutdown: Toyota to close Durban plant as it fears for safety of staff

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Toyota will on Monday close its Prospecton plant south of Durban - which only fully reopened late last year after suffering extensive damage in the devastating April floods in KwaZulu-Natal - because of the EFF's planned national shutdown.

In an internal memo dated 16 March, seen by News24 and confirmed by Toyota to be legitimate, the company's HR department informs employees in Durban that a decision was made to declare Monday "a non-production day" and close the plant for the day.

The internal memo was leaked by EFF leader Julius Malema on Twitter. 

"The decision has been made taking into consideration the safety of our employees and their families, the risk of disruption of our supply chain, the potential risk of absenteeism that could result from this national shutdown, and the need to make proactive arrangements that could help us recover lost production and employee income where possible," states the internal memo.

Monday's plant closure is on a no work no pay basis. However, to recover losses, overtime will be worked on two Saturdays.

Toyota responded to News24 on Friday afternoon to say that, due to the potential disruption of the supply chain and the subsequent impact on ability to produce vehicles on the day, the company's management thought it prudent to close the plant on Monday.

The plant reopened fully in mid-August 2022, having been heavily impacted by the floods that submerged the plant and caused billions of rands in damages.

This article was updated with comment by Toyota.