10th February, 2012
There are indications that many workers in the recently acquired banks in the country will soon lose their jobs.
P.M.NEWS Business World investigation revealed that several workers have been pencilled down for sack by Ecobank and FCMB and may soon be handed their sack letters.
Just last week, Access Bank sacked about 1,500 of its work force. Most the workers affected were mainly from its acquired entity, Intercontinental Bank.
In a statement after the sack exercise, the management of the bank hinged its decision on the desire to ensure the long-term sustainability and growth of the merged entity, adding that it was imperative that the bank’s cost structures are brought in line with Nigerian and global best practice.
According to a statement , the rationalisation process was carried out after working closely with Accenture to determine optimal level of resources to support a bank of its size that serves customers efficiently and delivers acceptable returns to investors, stressing that it was also part of the process of benchmarking against local and foreign financial institutions.
Several branches of Intercontinental Bank have also been closed down, following the exercise. Sources in Access Bank revealed to our correspondent that the affected branches may be sold off or leased out to generate income for the bank.
P.M.NEWS Business World findings in the two other acquired banks, FCMB and Ecobank, revealed that some workers in the two banks will soon be sacked.
A source in FCMB, who does not want to be quoted because he is not authorised to speak on the matter, said he is aware that the management of FCMB has concluded plans to lay off several staff that were acquired from Finbank.
The source stated that the exercise is inevitable as FCMB cannot accommodate the large number of workers it inherited from Finbank.
“It is true that our bank has considered some workers for sack. As I speak to you now, the list of those to be sacked has already been compiled. Any moment from now, their letters will be handed to them. It is really unfortunate,” he said.
In Ecobank, workers are already resigning en-mass over what they termed “unrealistic terms of employment” by the new owners.
A source in the bank told P.M.NEWS Business World that the management of the bank has given the newly acquired Oceanic Bank staff new condition of service that are very unrealistic. One of the conditions, according to the source, is a pay cut.
The source also said that the bank is considering trimming down the large workforce it inherited from Oceanic Bank.
—Henry Ojelu