Mass hiring28 July 2026verifiedOpen the full record Orangeville
Where: Beitbridge, Matabeleland SouthSector: Agriculture & Agro-processingPeople: 350
A 25 million United States dollar citrus processing plant at Beitbridge was employing about 350 people and aiming for 1 500 jobs within five years. About 60 percent of current workers are seasonal because of the harvest cycle. The plant makes juice supplied to Schweppes, extracts orange oil for cosmetics and turns peel into livestock feed. It has built 90 houses and two hostels for staff and plans a 5 000 hectare orchard.
Closure1 July 2026reportedOpen the full record OK Mart small and medium enterprise complex, Bulawayo
Where: Bulawayo, BulawayoSector: Retail & WholesalePeople: Not stated by the source
About sixty small traders inside a shared retail complex in Bulawayo stopped trading when the complex itself closed. Each of those traders is a business rather than a single job, and most of them employ one or two other people, so the real number of people affected is unknown. The closure matters because shared complexes of this kind are how many Zimbabweans enter formal trading. When one closes, the ladder into formal work is pulled away from a whole group of traders at once.
Industrial action19 June 2026reportedOpen the full record Government contracted construction firms
Where: NationalSector: Construction & EngineeringPeople: Not stated by the source
The Zimbabwe Construction and Allied Trades Workers Union accused firms building roads and public buildings of using slow Treasury payments as an excuse not to pay staff. The union said the companies could afford to pay on time and were also stalling wage negotiations. It warned that withholding wages breaks the Labour Act. The complaint mirrors the Bitumen World job cuts, showing state payment delays flowing through to construction workers.
Mass hiring10 June 2026verifiedOpen the full record Shuntai Investments
Where: Chegutu, Mashonaland WestSector: ManufacturingPeople: 450
A Chinese backed cement plant at Chegutu was 90 percent complete and already employing 450 people, mostly young people from nearby communities. Commissioning slipped from May to August 2026 because equipment deliveries were delayed. The plant is designed to make about 800 000 tonnes of cement a year and will run its own 50 megawatt power station. New cement capacity matters because two established cement makers were in distress at the same time.
Mass hiring3 June 2026verifiedOpen the full record Namib Minerals
Where: Penhalonga and Mazowe, Manicaland and Mashonaland CentralSector: Mining & MineralsPeople: 3,100
The Nasdaq listed company said work to bring Redwing Mine at Penhalonga and Mazowe Mine back to life was already under way, backed by 300 to 400 million United States dollars. Direct jobs across its Zimbabwe operations were expected to rise from 1 375 to about 3 100. Water had been pumped out of Redwing since late January 2026 and new power lines were being installed. Its How Mine near Bulawayo was already producing.
Retrenchment1 June 2026verifiedOpen the full record Greendoor Group, trading as Cargo 2 Congo
Where: NationalSector: Transport & LogisticsPeople: 75
A South African based haulage company told about 75 drivers, most of them Zimbabweans hired through an agency, that their jobs would end on 1 June 2026. The firm blamed an ageing truck fleet, lower cargo volumes and the need to restructure costs. It said the cuts were permanent because it did not expect the market to recover soon. It shows that Zimbabwean job losses also happen through cross border employers and labour agencies.
Mass hiring27 May 2026verifiedOpen the full record Government of Zimbabwe / Ministry of Health and Child Care
Where: NationalSector: Healthcare & PharmaceuticalsPeople: 8,785
The government approved 8 785 new health worker posts for 2026 as part of a plan to add 32 000 health jobs by 2030. About 3 700 of the 5 284 posts approved in 2025 had already been filled. An 11.8 million United States dollar package was created to keep staff working in rural areas. The announcement came while the nurses pay dispute was still unresolved, so new posts may be hard to fill and hold.
Restructuring22 May 2026verifiedOpen the full record OK Zimbabwe Limited
Where: NationalSector: Retail & WholesalePeople: Not stated by the source
OK Zimbabwe told staff it would not run a payroll from May 2026 until further notice, suspending all salaries and wages. The retailer had entered corporate rescue on 24 February 2026 owing creditors about 37.4 million United States dollars, including 24 million to suppliers. Suppliers had begun demanding cash upfront, which emptied shelves and cut sales sharply. A listed company suspending pay for its whole workforce is a rare and serious signal of distress.
Industrial action17 May 2026verifiedOpen the full record Hwange Colliery Company, Ingwebu Breweries, Harare City Council and the civil service
Where: Hwange, Matabeleland NorthSector: Mining & MineralsPeople: Not stated by the source
A national report found several large employers had simply stopped paying staff in full. Hwange Colliery workers were owed up to four years of back pay, with arrears estimated at more than 70 million United States dollars. Ingwebu Breweries in Bulawayo had not paid most staff in full since January 2026, Harare City Council owed December salaries to lower graded workers, and civil servants had not received a November 2024 local currency component. Production continued while wages did not, which is why unions call it wage theft.
Industrial action28 April 2026reportedOpen the full record Government of Zimbabwe / Public Service Commission
Where: NationalSector: Education & TrainingPeople: Not stated by the source
The Educators Union of Zimbabwe gave the Public Service Commission two weeks to respond seriously to its pay demands. Teachers wanted a larger United States dollar share of salaries, the full 80 dollar teaching allowance paid in dollars, a suspension of the grading system, and the return of housing, transport and rural incentives. The union warned it would declare incapacity and take legal steps. That would have disrupted the May school opening for pupils nationwide.
Industrial action20 April 2026verifiedOpen the full record Government of Zimbabwe / Ministry of Health and Child Care
Where: NationalSector: Healthcare & PharmaceuticalsPeople: Not stated by the source
Nurses across the country stopped work from 20 to 22 April 2026 after the April pay rise turned out to be only about 30 to 40 United States dollars, far below the 550 to 600 dollars they had expected. Their union called the increase a token that could not be taken seriously. Reports at the time said the country was already short of more than 5 000 nurses. Hospitals including Sally Mugabe Central were disrupted and patients bore the cost.
Industrial action15 April 2026verifiedOpen the full record Zimbabwe Nurses Association, public hospitals
Where: NationalSector: Healthcare & PharmaceuticalsPeople: Not stated by the source
The nurses union announced a three day national withdrawal of labour for the middle of April 2026. The stated demands were a cost of living adjustment, an end to salary deductions nobody had explained, the issuing of payslips, updated allowances, affordable accommodation and transport, and relief from staff shortages. This announcement sat between the March ultimatum and the stoppage later in April, so it shows a dispute building rather than a single event. Every one of these stoppages lands on patients in public hospitals first.
Mass hiring1 April 2026verifiedOpen the full record Sable Chemical Industries Limited
Where: Kwekwe, MidlandsSector: ManufacturingPeople: 300
Zimbabwe's only ammonium nitrate fertiliser maker began restarting its Kwekwe plant after about three years shut because of high energy costs and financial problems. The state backed Mutapa Investment Fund put in fresh capital. Staff numbers were set to grow from 162 to 300 once the plant runs fully, with first bags expected in May 2026 and stable output by June. Cheaper local fertiliser also affects farm incomes and farm jobs.
Industrial action24 March 2026verifiedOpen the full record Government of Zimbabwe / Ministry of Health and Child Care
Where: NationalSector: Healthcare & PharmaceuticalsPeople: Not stated by the source
Nurses gave the government 48 hours to respond to a demand for about 540 United States dollars a month, roughly double what they were earning, saying pay in local currency had lost its value. A three day national strike was declared covering central, provincial and district hospitals, with only critical care staff remaining. Rural teachers under the ARTUZ union promised to join if nothing changed. The presidency promised a salary review in early April, which set up the later dispute.
Restructuring25 February 2026verifiedOpen the full record Ministry of Mines and Mining Development
Where: NationalSector: Mining & MineralsPeople: Not stated by the source
The government suddenly stopped exports of all raw minerals and lithium concentrate, including consignments already on the road. It said it wanted to stop leakages and force companies to process minerals inside Zimbabwe. The measure pushes miners toward local processing plants, which should create refining jobs over time. In the short term it puts pressure on export focused operations and the people they employ.
Closure4 February 2026reportedOpen the full record Treger Products, Merlin, Hunyani, Dunlop, Cold Storage Commission and National Railways of Zimbabwe
Where: Bulawayo, BulawayoSector: ManufacturingPeople: Not stated by the source
A review of Bulawayo's industrial decline listed factories and state firms that had closed or shrunk, including Treger Products, Merlin, Hunyani, Dunlop, the Cold Storage Commission and the railways. The article said thousands of skilled jobs had gone but gave no verified number. It argued that policy failure, underinvestment and poor management mattered as much as sanctions. Bulawayo was once Zimbabwe's manufacturing centre, so the loss reshaped the whole region's labour market.
Industrial action22 January 2026reportedOpen the full record Varun Beverages Zimbabwe
Where: NationalSector: ManufacturingPeople: Not stated by the source
The beverages union lodged a formal complaint with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions accusing the bottling company of blocking workers from joining a union. The union said the firm refused to process membership forms, would not set up subscription deductions and relied heavily on short fixed term contracts. Management was said to have pushed meetings back to March 2026. Freedom of association disputes matter because they decide whether workers can bargain at all.
Industrial action7 January 2026verifiedOpen the full record RioZim, Anjin and other mining employers
Where: NationalSector: Mining & MineralsPeople: Not stated by the source
The mine workers union used its end of year statement to describe 2025 as a tumultuous year for mine workers. It said RioZim and Anjin had left workers unpaid for months and that workers downed tools at several mines. It also reported retrenchments, safety breaches and growing use of short fixed term contracts. The union said workers reaped poverty even as billions of dollars in minerals were exported.
Restructuring1 January 2026verifiedOpen the full record National Employment Council for the Mining Industry and the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe
Where: NationalSector: Mining & MineralsPeople: Not stated by the source
Mine unions and employers agreed new minimum wages covering the whole of 2026. Pay rose 5 percent for the first half of the year and a further 7 percent for the second half, across grades 1 to 13. The lowest grade moved from about 411 to about 419 United States dollars a month and the top grade from about 953 to about 971 dollars. Mines earning foreign currency must pay in a mix of dollars and ZiG, while others can apply to pay only in ZiG.
Hiring freeze1 January 2026verifiedOpen the full record Government of Zimbabwe, civil service
Where: NationalSector: Public Sector & GovernmentPeople: Not stated by the source
Treasury told every government department that it may not fill posts during 2026, apart from health, education and a small part of security. The reason given was the wage bill, which takes about fifty six of every hundred dollars the government spends. The civil service employs around 330,000 people and is the single biggest employer in the country. A freeze of this size removes the main entry route into formal work for school leavers and graduates for a full year.
Read the source: newZWirePublished 11 September 2025 Mass hiring26 November 2025reportedOpen the full record Caledonia Mining Corporation
Where: Bilboes, northern Zimbabwe, NationalSector: Mining & MineralsPeople: Not stated by the source
Caledonia approved construction of the Bilboes gold mine in northern Zimbabwe at a total capital cost of 584 million United States dollars. The company says Bilboes will become the country's largest gold mine. No job figure was published with the approval, so the employment effect is not yet quantified. A project of this size normally means a large construction workforce followed by permanent mining jobs.
Closure20 November 2025verifiedOpen the full record OK Zimbabwe Limited
Where: NationalSector: Retail & WholesalePeople: Not stated by the source
OK Zimbabwe shut 11 stores, cutting its network from 73 shops to 62, with three more in the process of closing. The union said hundreds more jobs went and that over 1 000 retail jobs had already been lost since late 2023, mostly among workers on short contracts. The company had reported a loss of about 25 million United States dollars for the year to 31 March 2025. It signalled that Zimbabwe's formal retail sector was contracting fast.
Mass hiring19 September 2025verifiedOpen the full record Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt (Arcadia Technology Zimbabwe and Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe)
Where: Goromonzi, Mashonaland EastSector: Mining & MineralsPeople: Not stated by the source
Huayou launched a 400 million United States dollar lithium sulphate plant at Arcadia Mine in Goromonzi, the first of its kind in Africa. It converts spodumene concentrate into battery grade lithium sulphate at 50 000 tonnes a year. Jobs were created during construction and more hiring was expected once the plant ran, but no figures were published. The plant was built ahead of Zimbabwe's ban on exporting lithium concentrate, so it protects local processing work.
Mass hiring24 August 2025reportedOpen the full record Sandawana Mines (Kuvimba Mining House)
Where: Mberengwa, MidlandsSector: Mining & MineralsPeople: 26
Sandawana Mines engaged 26 local people in Mberengwa to rehabilitate dust roads, paying them monthly with flexible hours. Community leaders welcomed the work as a support for local trade. The same report noted the mine had previously employed hundreds of local people but had cut back because world lithium prices fell. It is a small example of how a lithium price slump reached rural households.
Retrenchment21 August 2025verifiedOpen the full record Bitumen World
Where: NationalSector: Construction & EngineeringPeople: Not stated by the source
One of Zimbabwe's biggest road and dam construction firms announced a restructuring that cut jobs. The company said the government, its main customer, had fallen behind on payments for road rehabilitation and dam work, leaving it short of cash. It promised severance packages and transition help for affected staff. The case shows how delays in state payments push job losses out into private contractors.
Mass hiring18 August 2025verifiedOpen the full record Dinson Iron and Steel Company
Where: Manhize, MidlandsSector: ManufacturingPeople: 2,000
The government said the Chinese backed Manhize steelworks had created about 2 000 jobs so far. The first phase cost about one billion United States dollars with another 800 million planned for expansion. Officials forecast up to 25 000 direct jobs and 150 000 indirect jobs at full capacity, though those numbers are projections. The plant makes 600 000 tonnes of carbon steel a year and is the largest new industrial employer in the country.
Retrenchment14 July 2025verifiedOpen the full record Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company
Where: NationalSector: Mining & MineralsPeople: 400
The state owned diamond company removed 400 jobs from a workforce of more than 1 800. World demand for natural diamonds had dropped because buyers in China and the United States pulled back and cheaper laboratory grown stones took market share. The company said it had to choose between shutting down or running smaller while waiting for prices to recover. This was the largest single mining retrenchment reported in Zimbabwe during 2025.
Industrial action1 July 2025verifiedOpen the full record Anjin Investments
Where: Chiadzwa, Marange, ManicalandSector: Mining & MineralsPeople: Not stated by the source
Workers at the Anjin diamond operation in Chiadzwa stopped work because they had not been paid for four months and were unhappy with conditions. Their union also raised concerns about how diamonds were being sorted. The company denied there had been a strike and said workers had only asked to meet management. The union said one worker died after being unable to pay for medical care, which shows how wage arrears can turn into a safety issue.
Restructuring1 June 2025verifiedOpen the full record National Employment Council for the Agricultural Industry
Where: NationalSector: Agriculture & Agro-processingPeople: Not stated by the source
Employers and unions in general agriculture agreed a new collective bargaining agreement backdated to 1 June 2025. The lowest grade rose from 75 to 80 United States dollars a month and the top grade from 149 to 159 dollars. Workers must be paid 65 percent in United States dollars with the rest in local ZiG currency, and fuel and night allowances each rose by one dollar. Farm work is one of the largest sources of formal employment in Zimbabwe, so the floor wage matters widely.
Industrial action14 April 2025verifiedOpen the full record University of Zimbabwe
Where: Harare, HarareSector: Education & TrainingPeople: Not stated by the source
Lecturers stopped teaching and picketed the campus gates, demanding pay return to the 2018 level of 2 250 United States dollars a month for junior lecturers, up from about 230 dollars. They also refused to mark examinations. The strike ran for more than 57 days into June 2025 and students who protested in support were arrested. It was the longest running industrial action in Zimbabwean higher education in this period.
Industrial action4 February 2025verifiedOpen the full record Harare City Council
Where: Harare, HarareSector: Public Sector & GovernmentPeople: Not stated by the source
Council staff started working only two or three days a week after missing their December 2024 and January 2025 salaries. Their union said the council was breaking a rule requiring wages to be paid by the 28th of each month. Workers also wanted an end to staggered payments where some staff are paid before others. Refuse collection, clinics and water services in the capital all depend on these workers.
Closure1 February 2025verifiedOpen the full record Truworths Zimbabwe Limited
Where: NationalSector: Retail & WholesalePeople: Not stated by the source
The clothing retailer went into an insolvency rescue and was sold for one United States dollar to manufacturer Valfin. Its store count had fallen from 101 branches at its peak in 2001 to just 26. It owed unpaid wages of about 624 000 dollars to managers and 444 000 dollars to other workers, and had a negative net asset value of about 2 million dollars. Cheap imports, second hand clothing and the collapse of local textile manufacturing were blamed.
Retrenchment31 January 2025verifiedOpen the full record CBZ Holdings Limited
Where: Harare, HarareSector: Financial ServicesPeople: 347
Zimbabwe's largest financial services group cut 347 jobs out of a staff of 1 448, about a quarter of its people. The bank said the move was about efficiency, long term survival and adapting to more automated banking. It followed an earlier round in October 2024 in which 13 senior executives left. It was the biggest single banking sector job cut reported in the period.
Read the source: ZimLivePublished 31 January 2025 Closure31 January 2025verifiedOpen the full record OK Zimbabwe Limited
Where: Harare, Chitungwiza and Bulawayo, Harare, BulawayoSector: Retail & WholesalePeople: Not stated by the source
The 83 year old supermarket chain closed five branches at once and lined up a sixth for March 2025. Shops shut included Robson Manyika, Glen Norah, Kuwadzana Express and Mbare in Harare, Chitungwiza Town Centre and Entumbane in Bulawayo. Hundreds of mostly junior staff faced retrenchment from 31 March 2025. The chain owed suppliers about 17 million United States dollars and could not restock its shelves properly.
Retrenchment16 January 2025verifiedOpen the full record Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe (Triangle Limited and Hippo Valley Estates)
Where: Triangle and Chiredzi, MasvingoSector: Agriculture & Agro-processingPeople: 1,000
Zimbabwe's biggest sugar producer said it would remove 1 000 jobs from a workforce of about 16 000. The cuts were split into three phases between February and August 2025, with roughly 500 people going from each of its two mills. The company said labour costs had risen 113 percent since 2022 while profit margins fell 55 percent, and pointed to currency losses and expensive fertiliser. This was the single largest announced job cut in Zimbabwean agriculture in the period.
Closure20 December 2024verifiedOpen the full record Khayah Cement Limited (formerly Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe)
Where: NationalSector: ManufacturingPeople: Not stated by the source
Khayah Cement passed a resolution putting itself under corporate rescue to avoid being wound up. The company said United States sanctions on its majority shareholder, Fossil Mines, had squeezed its business badly. A rescue practitioner from Grant Thornton took over dealings with creditors. Corporate rescue puts every job at the cement maker at risk, although no worker number was reported.
Restructuring12 December 2024verifiedOpen the full record Government of Zimbabwe (Statutory Instrument 191 of 2024)
Where: NationalSector: Public Sector & GovernmentPeople: Not stated by the source
The government issued new retrenchment regulations setting the minimum package at one month of pay for every year worked, up from one month for every two years. Employers in financial difficulty can apply for an exemption but must still pay at least a quarter of the minimum package. Teacher and mine worker unions welcomed the change as a real improvement. Because retrenchments were rising sharply, the rule directly changed what thousands of departing workers received.
Closure30 November 2024verifiedOpen the full record Choppies Enterprises Limited (Nanavac Pty Ltd)
Where: NationalSector: Retail & WholesalePeople: Not stated by the source
The Botswana listed supermarket group said it would stop trading in Zimbabwe and sell its 30 stores. It said shoppers had moved to informal traders who pay no rent or tax, cutting footfall in formal shops by up to 30 percent. The stores were later taken over and rebranded as Sai Mart. The exit of a regional chain showed how the shift to informal trade is reshaping who employs retail workers.
Read the source: ZimLivePublished 30 November 2024 Retrenchment27 November 2024reportedOpen the full record PPC Zimbabwe
Where: NationalSector: ManufacturingPeople: 20
The cement maker moved to lay off more than 20 local managers under a turnaround plan, out of about 400 staff. Affected managers complained that only Zimbabweans were being cut while foreign nationals in similar posts were protected. The timing drew criticism because the company had just reported a 20.6 percent rise in revenue and declared a dividend. The company did not respond publicly, so the account rests on affected staff.
Industrial action2 November 2024verifiedOpen the full record RioZim (Renco Mine)
Where: Renco Mine, Bikita area, MasvingoSector: Mining & MineralsPeople: 1,200
After the Renco strike ended, RioZim offered workers only 50 percent of pay for the strike period, relying on a section of the Labour Act. The union said this broke a court order requiring full payment by 10 December 2024. It said it would file for contempt of court. The case matters because it tested whether a court order on wage arrears can actually be enforced against a struggling employer.
Industrial action9 October 2024verifiedOpen the full record RioZim (Renco Mine)
Where: Renco Mine, Bikita area, MasvingoSector: Mining & MineralsPeople: 1,200
More than 1 200 workers at Renco Mine stopped work on 9 October 2024 because they had not been paid since July. A court declared the strike unlawful and ordered them back on 2 November 2024. The mine is owned by RioZim, which was short of cash across its operations. The stoppage showed how unpaid wages, rather than pay rises, had become the main trigger for mine strikes in Zimbabwe.
Closure30 September 2024verifiedOpen the full record Bikita Minerals (Sinomine Resource Group)
Where: Bikita, MasvingoSector: Mining & MineralsPeople: Not stated by the source
From 30 September 2024 Bikita Minerals ended the work of contractors Hocean, Kinsey and KW, scaled down Anxin and shut its dense media separation plant. The general manager said lithium prices had fallen by about 90 percent since late 2023 and that taxes, power and transport costs were high. Contract mining crews were stood down rather than permanent staff, which is why no headcount was published. It marked the point where Zimbabwe's lithium boom turned into job losses.
Restructuring1 September 2024reportedOpen the full record Government of Zimbabwe / Public Service Commission
Where: NationalSector: Public Sector & GovernmentPeople: Not stated by the source
Public sector unions accepted a 40 United States dollar monthly increase for all grades from deputy director downwards, backdated to 1 September 2024 at a cost of about 41 million dollars. The lowest paid grade moved from 324 to 364 dollars a month. Workers had first rejected a smaller 31 million dollar offer and had asked to be paid in United States dollars, but the money came in local currency at bank rates. The deal set the baseline that nurses and teachers later rejected as inadequate.
Industrial action13 June 2024verifiedOpen the full record ZESA Holdings
Where: NationalSector: Energy & PowerPeople: 6,000
Two unions representing about 6 000 ZESA employees confronted the power utility over unpaid Covid 19 allowances from January and February 2024 and the absence of cost of living talks. ZESA agreed to clear the allowance arrears by 21 June 2024 and to pay a temporary 30 percent cushioning allowance backdated to June. Older arbitration disputes over 2023 wages remained unresolved. Unrest at the power utility matters because outages already constrain every other sector.
Mass hiring3 January 2024verifiedOpen the full record Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education
Where: Eight rural provincesSector: Education & TrainingPeople: 2,000
The education ministry said it had 2 000 teaching posts left to fill during the 2024 financial year, on top of 2 500 teachers hired in September 2023. It was trying to close 6 846 empty posts across eight rural provinces. Hiring decisions were moved closer to the provinces to speed the process up, with science and mathematics teachers the priority. This was one of the few large state hiring drives in the period.