FMD shutdown puts 240 Savanna Beef jobs at risk

About 240 workers at Savanna Beef Processors face uncertainty over their jobs and incomes after the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak forced the export abattoir to halt operations.

Management is expected to decide their employment arrangements for November and December this week.

In an information letter to shareholders and members of the Beef Value Chain Forum dated 27 October, chairperson Mecki Schneider says all employees working on the slaughtering, cooling, deboning and packing floors had been placed on leave, bringing operations to a complete standstill.

“A decision must be made in the coming week on the arrangements for approximately 240 employees during November and December 2026,” Schneider says.

The shutdown follows the suspension of key export markets after FMD was detected in Namibia’s FMD-free zone on 23 September.

Savanna had reached its maximum daily production capacity of 250 head of cattle just two weeks before the outbreak.

It had also exported approximately 100 containers of beef to niche markets in the United Kingdom (UK), the European Union (EU) and Norway.

Schneider says negotiations were underway with the company’s financiers and banks, but warns that Savanna had no external party to absorb its losses.

“Savanna is currently operating in survival mode,” he says.

He adds that “expenditure will have to be aligned with its financial circumstances”.

The employment uncertainty comes as Savanna works to find alternative markets and prepare the facility for a possible limited restart.

A skeleton staff remains on site to maintain equipment and operate the remaining cooling facilities, while beef stored in chillers and freezers is being sold locally.

Management expects maintenance and improvements, including issues identified by the Directorate of Veterinary Services, to be largely completed by mid-November.

Slaughtering could then resume on a limited scale towards the end of November and, if feasible, continue through December.

However, the company has not indicated how many of the 240 workers could return if operations resume on a reduced scale, or whether employees will receive full pay while on leave.

The shutdown also threatens to affect cattle producers who had secured supply arrangements with Savanna.

The company says it had booked cattle supplies running into the thousands for the third quarter, with initial fourth-quarter bookings extending to the end of February 2027.

Schneider warns that producers should prepare for lower prices while the industry waits for market access to be restored.

“Lower market prices are expected in the near term until access to the EU and UK markets is restored,” he says.

Savanna is supporting efforts to restore Namibia’s veterinary status through a renewed application to the World Organisation for Animal Health.

The Beef Value Chain Forum’s steering committee has approved N$500 000 to engage an international expert to assist with the process, an initiative intended to benefit all export abattoirs.

The company is also seeking alternative markets, although Schneider cautions that negotiations are complicated by differences in countries’ veterinary requirements.

Management will provide the first indication of how the shutdown will affect its workforce.