Many commercial banks are expected to fire some of their laggard staff as they resume duty on Monday, May 4, 2020. The targeted staff are those that fail to meet set targets or those working in branches that will not open immediately as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 shocks.
For instance, Access Bank Plc disliked plans to cut salaries to avoid job losses as a lockdown to contain the coronavirus hampers its operations, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The reductions are expected to start from May unless business conditions improve, said the people, who were briefed on the matter during a conference call and asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak publicly. Some management will get as much as a 40 per cent decrease, they said. A spokesman for Lagos-based Access Bank declined to comment.
Nigerian banks are facing the threat of rising bad-debt levels as a crash in oil prices and the risk of a naira devaluation coincide with the Covid-19 pandemic that has shuttered businesses.Access Bank, which acquired rival Diamond Bank last year, had 6,898 permanent staff at the end of 2019, according to a presentation on its website.
Insider sources said many of the staff from defunct Diamond Bank will most likely to be affected. There are also reports that United Bank for Africa, Zenith Bank, among others will be laying off a large part of their workforce in May. The acquisition of Diamond Bank partly contributed to a 31 per cent increase in operating expenses. Personnel, recruitment and training costs account for more than a third of overheads after the deal boosted employee numbers and resulted in “wage harmonization” across the businesses.
It was also leant that many staff from Diamond Bank have moved to other banks, mainly GTBank because of fear of job loss.
