Telecoms firm Rain is transforming its Johannesburg office, which will impact a “minimal” number of jobs.
ITWeb was told by an insider that some employees from the company’s Johannesburg office had been served with retrenchment letters after the firm decided to wind down operations at the facility.
The insider added that some of the employees were being relocated to Cape Town, where Rain is headquartered.
However, the telecoms firm has denied it is closing down the Johannesburg operation.
In an e-mail to ITWeb, Marina Loubser, Rain head of communications and sponsorships, says: “Initially, Johannesburg served as the main headquarters for our company, but in recent years, we have shifted our headquarters to Cape Town.
“Consequently, Johannesburg is being transitioned into a regional office, and we plan to establish regional offices throughout the country.
“Through the transition to a regional office, some positions may be affected; however, we anticipate that the impact will be minimal,” says Loubser.
The company did not disclose how many employees or positions will be impacted by the transition.
“At Rain, we are committed to investing in South Africa and ultimately creating more job opportunities, as we expand both our 5G and national 4G mobile networks,” notes Loubser.
The announcement comes after the telco, which used to provide data-only services, last month launched a 4G mobile network, offering high-definition voice calls, data, SMS and national 4G mobile coverage.
This, after in March, Rain’s shareholder − billionaire Patrice Motsepe’s Africa Rainbow Capital (ARC) − said the telco was imminently looking to go live with a mobile offering.
The new product, RainOne, combines mobile and fixed-wireless, unlimited data, free monthly calls and data for two phones, and a fixed-5G connection at a monthly price.
According to JSE-listed ARC’s latest trading update, Rain expects a significant number of existing customers to switch to this new offering and to acquire new customers. It adds that Rain continues to meet its monthly financial targets.
Rain is controlled by diverse shareholders, including Quarme Private Equity (Paul Harris): 41.36%; ARC: 20.2%; Pluvial: 11.75%; Montegray Capital (Michael Jordaan): 11.53%; and Ata Fund 1: 6.42%.
Rain had primarily focused on the home internet market. It began by launching SA’s first 4G data-only network in 2018, and the country’s first commercial 5G network in 2019.
Last year, the company made moves for a merger with Telkom before the companies terminated the discussions in January this year.
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