Pan-African technology group Cassava Technologies is undertaking a workforce realignment in SA, as part of a broader strategic shift to reposition the business as a more agile enterprise.
The company has confirmed to ITWeb that employees at its subsidiary Liquid Intelligent Technologies South Africa have been offered voluntary retrenchment packages.
This, after it sent an internal memo informing employees that it has introduced voluntary severance and early retirement packages, in a move aimed at aligning its workforce with a new operating model.
“Cassava Technologies is undergoing a strategic transformation to become a more agile, solutions-driven enterprise,” says Ziaad Suleman, senior VP at Cassava Technologies and CEO for South Africa and Botswana, in a statement sent to ITWeb.
“As part of this journey to strengthen our organisational maturity, we are realigning our workforce to support our new business model.”
He adds that the introduction of voluntary severance and retirement options is a necessary step in ensuring the company remains competitive in a rapidly-evolving ICT landscape.
“In line with this process, we have offered employees at Liquid Intelligent Technologies South Africa the option of voluntary severance or voluntary retirement packages. These measures are essential in positioning our organisation to deliver superior value, relevance and long-term sustainability for all our stakeholders.”
Liquid Intelligent Technologies is a Pan-African provider of digital infrastructure, data centres and connectivity solutions.
In August 2020, Liquid laid off around 100 employees, as part of a “strategic repositioning”, the company said at the time.
While it has not disclosed how many employees may be affected in this round, voluntary severance and early retirement programmes are often used as a first step in restructuring processes, allowing businesses to limit the need for compulsory retrenchments.
Cassava Technologies has been repositioning itself from a traditional connectivity provider into a broader digital services group. This type of transition often requires different skill sets, forcing some organisations to reassess their workforce structure.
Described as a global tech company of African heritage, Cassava now counts search engine giant Google and $5 trillion-valued Nvidia among its shareholders.
The latest move comes as telecommunications and technology firms introduce another wave of hiring freezes and retrenchments in a restructuring move aimed at responding to shifting market dynamics.
These include rising demand for digital solutions, cloud services and integrated connectivity offerings, as well as the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation across workflows.
Firms in the ICT sector are also under pressure to optimise cost structures and improve profitability, while investing in next-generation capabilities.
Liquid South Africa is accelerating its AI strategy as part of its transformation into a digital solutions provider, with investments focused on enterprise AI, cloud and data-driven services.
The company’s flagship AI factory initiative looks to provide African businesses, governments and researchers with access to AI computing capacity.
Just months into 2026, the global technology sector is already shedding jobs at a pace that could eclipse last year’s total, according to forex trading firm RationalFX.
Since the start of the year, tech companies have announced 78 557 job cuts worldwide, with the largest cuts at Amazon, Ericsson, Meta and fintech group Block.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has been quoted as saying AI is enabling faster innovation and efficiency, prompting companies to restructure in anticipation of future productivity gains.
In 2024, Vodacom South Africa introduced an operational review and cost-cutting process that it said would impact a minimum of 80 jobs.
The telecoms operator said at the time the decision aligns with its commitment to adapt and optimise its business to meet evolving industry and customer demands.
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