SA Vehicle Retail (SA Retail), a division within Motus Holdings Limited (Motus) has tabled a new proposal to cut costs without putting people’s jobs at risk.
It is no secret that South Africa’s automotive sector is in trouble as Chinese brands continue to take over. Motus deals in vehicle sales, rentals, distribution and parts.
The company has acknowledged that it should have added Chinese brands in its dealerships earlier. This decision has forced Motus to restructure, resulting in employees facing changes in their benefits.
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Motus new plan for employees
The company said on Wednesday that the new plan is to realign incentive structures and company car benefits, instead of retrenching more people.
Motus has already retrenched 67 employees, but said this new proposal is separate from that round of retrenchments.
The new proposal is now set to affect 318 employees, instead of the initial 570. “The reduction is as a result of ongoing engagements and mitigation measures implemented by SA Retail,” said the company.
The new proposal to save jobs includes:
- No adjustments will be made to basic salaries, apart from senior management who agreed to salary reductions of up to 30% from August 2025.
- The realignment process excludes employees earning below R15 000 per month.
- SA Retail will only re-align incentive structures and company car benefits for administrative and support-related employees in line with industry benchmarks, and by less than 20% of total remuneration.
Motus said the new proposal has been tabled with the Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA). The Citizen has reached out to the union about the new proposal. A comment will be added once received.
How much do affected employees earn?
The company said the potentially affected employees earn on average 160% above the published Motor Industry Bargaining Council in South Africa (MIBCO) minimum.
The current agreed MIBCO minimum wage is approximately R1 283.85 per week for the lowest grade (Grade 1) employee.
“Should the revised re-alignment offer, which is an alternative to retrenchment, be accepted, the affected administrative and support-related employees will still be earning on average 125% above the MIBCO minimum,” said the company.
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Misa’s court application
The company has noted that Misa has filed an urgent Labour Court interdict earlier in the week. Motus has described the application as “against what it [Misa] claimed was the unilateral change in employment conditions of 275 SA Retail employees.”
However, SA Retail CEO, Gideon Jansen van Rensburg, notes that “there have not been any changes to conditions of employment or benefits, and all employees were paid their full salaries and incentives on the 23rd of January 2026”.
“To date, the revised offer has not been accepted by Misa and neither have they put forward any alternative proposals.”
Court date set
According to a court paper posted by Misa on their official Facebook page, the union will appear before the Labour Court in Johannesburg on behalf of 275 employees of SA Retail.
The court will hear arguments between the union and Motus on 3 February 2026.
Misa is of the view that the following are the changes that Motus is proposing to make for employees:
- Reduced basic salaries
- No entitlement to company vehicles and vehicles to be returned by 31 January 2026
- No entitlement to car-, fuel-, travel- and cell phone allowances
- No entitlement to receive incentives and/or commission.
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