MTN sacks 280 staffs

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Nigeria’s telecommunication giant, MTN, has sacked 280 of its workers, in a major job cut that is targeting at least, 25 per cent of its 1,8000 workers in the country, a company source confirmed yesterday in Lagos.
According to the source, some 200 permanent employees and about 80 contract staffers across various cadres, ranging from new graduates to senior managers, were affected in a move the source said is designed to inject fresh blood into the company’s workforce.

Many of those sacked spent up to 15 years with the company having joined MTN as it opened its business in Nigeria in 2001.

Sources said affected workers were given a dismal severance of 75 per cent of their gross monthly income multiplied by the number of years with the company.

“Given that the company is about 16 years old in Nigeria, the severance package brought pain and discontent among the affected staff.

“With the payoff structure, senior managers with 15 years of service were left with about N15 million; most of the staff got less than N5 million,” company source explained.

MTN Nigeria recorded nearly $1 billion in profit in 2016. However, the telecoms firm was heavily fined by the Nigerian government for failing to disconnect 5.2 million unregistered subscribers.

But a source familiar with the latest downsizing said 200 of those affected had earlier agreed to leave the company voluntarily.

The source said the sackings were as a result of “the changing dynamics of the telecoms industry in recent times”.

The source said the company introduced the voluntary severance scheme (VSS), to provide a window for one week in April, for persons who have served in MTN for five years and above to take up.

This news is yet to be official announced nor confirmed by the telecommunication giant.

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