Ecobank Nigeria Limited yesterday sacked 1,040 of its workforce,
The Nation has learnt.
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.”