What we know so far
Migrant workers leaving South Africa in large numbers are already disrupting the everyday services many households rely on, from Checkers Sixty60 deliveries to domestic work bookings, with economists warning the outflow could weigh on economic growth.
Authorities say around 67,000 foreign nationals have been processed for deportation or voluntary repatriation in recent weeks, according to reporting by Bloomberg. The real figure is likely higher. Zimbabwe alone says almost 100,000 of its citizens have returned home since late May.
The departures follow a wave of anti-migrant protests that peaked around 30 June, when fringe groups demanded that undocumented foreigners leave the country.
The consequence for consumers is immediate. Delivery fleets are losing riders, e-hailing trip prices have risen on some services, and an app connecting households with domestic workers recorded its worst week of cancellations since the pandemic.
What it means for your deliveries and daily help
Retail giant Shoprite’s Sixty60 service depends heavily on foreign riders. Migrants account for 70% of its delivery workforce, which runs a fleet of nearly 10,000 motorcycle riders.
A Johannesburg-based Sixty60 rider from Lesotho said seven of the 10 riders he started with in June have already left the country. He and another driver, who both declined to be named citing fear of being targeted, said delivery demand had also dipped since the protests.
Shoprite declined to comment. The company has previously said that eight of every 10 South African drivers quit before finishing the 10-week training, leaving foreign workers to fill the gap.
E-hailing is under similar strain. At least half of e-hailing drivers are migrant workers, according to Tella Masakale, spokesperson for the National E-Hailing Federation of South Africa, who noted a marked absence of drivers since 30 June. A shortage of available drivers has pushed up trip prices on some platforms.
Domestic work has been hit too. SweepSouth, an app linking domestic workers with households, recorded its highest rate of lost bookings since the Covid period during the week of 30 June.
“On June 30 itself, the number of lost bookings in a single day surpassed what we typically see in a whole month,” SweepSouth Chief Executive Officer Lourandi Kriel said, adding that transport disruptions and safety concerns were the main causes.
Key details and figures
The disruption spans multiple sectors of the informal and gig economy.
- Sixty60 riders: Migrants make up 70% of Shoprite’s nearly 10,000-strong delivery fleet.
- E-hailing: At least 50% of drivers are migrant workers, per the National E-Hailing Federation.
- Domestic work: SweepSouth logged its worst booking losses since the pandemic in the week of 30 June.
- Textiles: A union estimates about 15% of the workforce in the Newcastle textile hub has left.
The scale of the affected population is significant. A report backed by the South African Reserve Bank last year, the South Africa to the Rest of SADC Remittances Market Assessment, estimated the migrant population at about 3.9 million, of which it assessed 89% were undocumented. Nearly half are from Zimbabwe, with Malawi and Mozambique each estimated to account for more than 630,000.
The same report found that remittances sent from South Africa reached a record R19.4 billion (about $1.2 billion, approximate) in 2024, triple the level of a decade earlier.
Wages illustrate why the roles are hard to refill. Nadia Nyamayaro, a 36-year-old domestic worker from Harare, said she earned about R8,500 a month working as a cleaner and child-minder near Cape Town before leaving over safety concerns. She said South Africans would demand more for the same work.
In the Newcastle textile hub, hundreds of foreign workers have gone home, said Siyabonga Ntombela of the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union. He said migrant workers often sleep in shipping containers on factory premises, while local workers live in surrounding communities where wages can barely cover commuting costs.
“It’s not that South Africans don’t want to work,” Ntombela said. “They complain that they end up just accumulating money for transport.”
What happens next
Economists caution that the vacancies will not be filled quickly. Mpho Lenoke, economics programme leader at North-West University, said a fast outflow of migrant workers could hamper productivity and production in the near term and may slow economic growth.
Lenoke said some opportunities may open for South Africans, but many sectors already struggle to attract local workers due to low wages, difficult conditions, seasonal work or specialised skills. Reducing undocumented labour might improve compliance with labour laws, he said, but would not by itself solve unemployment.
Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, who chairs the inter-ministerial committee on migration, addressed the perception driving the tensions at a Johannesburg event. She said the belief on the ground is that employers choose foreign nationals because they are seen as vulnerable and less likely to demand basic conditions of employment.
The government has continued processing returns through a temporary centre near the Zimbabwe border. Whether the departures ease labour-market pressures or simply deepen service shortages will depend on wage levels, enforcement and how quickly local workers take up the vacated roles, questions that remain unresolved.
