[South Africa] Sugar giant hits payroll funding crisis ahead of JSE delisting

In South Africa, an estimated 250,000 jobs are in danger in the wake of sugar giant Tongaat Hulett’s funding crisis, IOL reports.

At the end of October, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi called a private meeting with the Tongaat Hulett management, Industrial Development Corporation, Zulu Royal Household representatives and sugarcane growers to discuss the company's payroll funding problems and its November 3 JSE delisting date.

KZN SAPS spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda reportedly stated that the meeting followed fears that October's salaries would be the last that staff members received, with 250,000 jobs under threat.

Tongaat Hulett directly employs about 3,000 people in South Africa. However, its value chain is significant. South Africa's sugar industry supports around 65,000 small-scale growers and 270,000 indirect jobs, mostly in KwaZulu-Natal.

The 250,000 figure cited by police reflects the entire ecosystem in danger: should mills stop producing, growers cannot deliver cane, transporters stop, and rural towns face collapse. The immediate trigger is funding. 

Since 2023, Tongaat Hulett has reportedly been operating on IDC post-commencement finance of R2.75 billion. This was due to expire on September 30, and the company has been operating on an unconfirmed extension since. Without financing, the business rescue practitioners cannot meet payroll or pay growers for cane delivered.

Tongaat Hulett is scheduled to be delisted from the JSE on November 3, ending a 74-year listing that began in 1952 as J.L. Hulett & Sons. It merged with Tongaat Group in 1982 to become South Africa's sugar giant, owning over 500,000 hectares under cane across Southern Africa at its peak.

The IDC reportedly intervened as lender of last resort to prevent liquidation after the government opposed liquidation in February 2026, warning of severe consequences for workers and farmers. In June, the IDC, Vision Group and practitioners signed a binding rescue agreement to halt immediate liquidation.

Source: IOL

In South Africa, an estimated 250,000 jobs are in danger in the wake of sugar giant Tongaat Hulett’s funding crisis, IOL reports.

At the end of October, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi called a private meeting with the Tongaat Hulett management, Industrial Development Corporation, Zulu Royal Household representatives and sugarcane growers to discuss the company's payroll funding problems and its November 3 JSE delisting date.

KZN SAPS spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda reportedly stated that the meeting followed fears that October's salaries would be the last that staff members received, with 250,000 jobs under threat.

Tongaat Hulett directly employs about 3,000 people in South Africa. However, its value chain is significant. South Africa's sugar industry supports around 65,000 small-scale growers and 270,000 indirect jobs, mostly in KwaZulu-Natal.

The 250,000 figure cited by police reflects the entire ecosystem in danger: should mills stop producing, growers cannot deliver cane, transporters stop, and rural towns face collapse. The immediate trigger is funding. 

Since 2023, Tongaat Hulett has reportedly been operating on IDC post-commencement finance of R2.75 billion. This was due to expire on September 30, and the company has been operating on an unconfirmed extension since. Without financing, the business rescue practitioners cannot meet payroll or pay growers for cane delivered.

Tongaat Hulett is scheduled to be delisted from the JSE on November 3, ending a 74-year listing that began in 1952 as J.L. Hulett & Sons. It merged with Tongaat Group in 1982 to become South Africa's sugar giant, owning over 500,000 hectares under cane across Southern Africa at its peak.

The IDC reportedly intervened as lender of last resort to prevent liquidation after the government opposed liquidation in February 2026, warning of severe consequences for workers and farmers. In June, the IDC, Vision Group and practitioners signed a binding rescue agreement to halt immediate liquidation.

Source: IOL