News: Ecobank Nigeria Sacks 1,040 Workers

Ecobank Nigeria Limited yesterday sacked 1,040 of its workforce, The 1,040, fell short of initial 1,400 slated for sack by management, following a review of the maiden list, a source said.

Investigation revealed that the affected staff were those that achieved less than 40 per cent of their performance target, which have affected the lender’s overall profitability in recent years.

The downsising, which cuts across all cadres of its workforce including junior, middle and top management positions, is happening at a time majority of banks are battling with poor profitability over harsh economic conditions and heightened business risks from the  plunge in crude oil prices. Ecobank Nigeria is taking this measure to shore-up its dwindling profitability due to its exposure to oil sector loans.

Ecobank Nigeria is a member of the Ecobank Group which as at March 31, this year, employs nearly 19,142 people from 40 different countries. Ecobank Nigeria alone has over 9,000 staff, which over 46 per cent of the entire workforce for the group.

The lender however, converted over 200 outsourced personnel to permanent employees, to enable them enhance their contributions to its bottom-line. The bank also reassigned many other employees to new roles for improved efficiency.

In a statement released yesterday, Ecobank Nigeria’s Managing Director, Charles Kie, said converting qualified outsourced staff to permanent positions is in line with the lender’s commitment to develop and grow talent by nurturing its people along their career paths. For him, it was also an opportunity to give the employees access to higher responsibilities.

According to Kie, the bank in its renewed drive for optimal performance has, in addition realigned certain roles bank wide to ensure improved efficiency.

“This necessitated the exits of some staff who were adequately compensated and is in furtherance of a market repositioning exercise designed to strengthen the bank’s business across all markets where it operates.

The bank chief assured on the readiness of the lender to recognize and reward excellence will drive the bank’s goal of achieving exceptional performance in the industry.

“We understand that people are our key asset, so we have emphasized the need to reward our best performers, continue to re-invigorate our people while also opening up new opportunities for talented, committed people to join us as permanent employees,” he said.

“At the same time, based on our repositioning plan, we had to disengage some staff while ensuring that, in line with industry standards, they are treated fairly”. He maintained that Ecobank is an institution where high professional culture, exceptional performance, innovativeness and professionalism are recognized, nurtured and rewarded”.

Ecobank Group’s gross earnings were down five per cent to $660.1 million in the first quarter of this year ended March 31. Its operating profit before impairment losses also went down by 14 per cent to $170.3 million while profit before tax equally plunged by 33 per cent to $103.7 million.

Profit after tax was down 35 per cent to $81.4 million while total assets rose by two per cent to $23.2 billion.

The group’s loans and advances to customers down were down to $11.1 billion while deposits from customers were up by two per cent to $15.9 billion. Its total equity was up by one per cent to $2.5 billion.

Group CEO Ade Ayeyemi said: “Our results for the first quarter were a reasonable performance in light of the very difficult and tough operating market conditions.”

“Despite the challenges our clients continue to face, our diversified business model, which is a source of competitive strength and stability, allows us to continue to serve them in and across regions in Middle Africa. With our revised strategy and a simplified operating model we aim to be more efficient in running our businesses and serving our customers. “

“Cost discipline remains a priority, especially in this revenue challenged environment. Despite a slight deterioration in our cost-income ratio to 66.1 per cent, we remain focused on reducing cost, while simultaneously investing in people, processes and systems, for the future. “

Ayeyemi concluded: “We remain vigilant as we continue to navigate the company through this challenging period. We are confident in our strategic plan aimed at ensuring we generate sustainable long-term performance.”

Source: The Nation