Struggling state-owned rail utility, TransNamib Holdings Ltd plans to hand control of its parcel and road freight business to 1,000 of its soon-to-be retrenched employees.

The rail utility wants the retrenched workers and their unions to take ownership and manage the businesses it’s spinning off, Isai Haikela, assistant to TransNamib’s chief executive officer, said by phone from Windhoek.

“We are still putting together the numbers in terms of actual value of the road and parcel businesses,” Haikela said. “These are viable businesses, but for us it’s non-core. Our mode of transport will be rail — that’s our core.”

Out of a total of 1,600 staff, 1,000 will be retrenched which will leave only the staff need for its rail operations.

The company reported a loss of 183 million Namibian dollars ($16 million) in 2013, which will probably narrow to 126 million Namibian dollars for last year, it said Sept. 25.