CIC Group is targeting to cut up to 75 jobs through a mix of voluntary exit programme and redundancies, as it adopts a leaner structure powered by technology.
The targeted jobs will be about 10 percent of the 728 staff the insurance firm had at the end of October.
CIC Group Chief Executive Officer Patrick Nyaga said in a notice that the restructuring follows a detailed review of the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)-listed firm, resulting in the adoption of a “leaner, flatter and more transparent” structure.
He said the new structure is aimed at optimising vital capabilities, eliminating functional and resources duplication, driving cost efficiencies and removing complexities relating to reporting lines.
“The expectation of the group is that this rationalisation will yield the desired outcomes, leading to a more efficient and profitable group in the short, medium and long term,” said Mr Nyaga.
The insurer said it will only consider redundancies if absolutely necessary, giving priority to voluntary exits.
The firm in 2022 spent Sh2.24 billion to pay 648 staff, up from Sh1.96 billion it had used in the previous year when it had 573 employees.
The decision to cut jobs came as a surprise given that the insurer, which has operations in Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Malawi, had seen increased profitability last year as well as in the first half of 2023.
CIC this year resumed dividend payout for the first time in four years as the net profit for the financial year ended December 2022 grew by 63 percent to Sh1.09 billion.
The growth in net earnings from Sh668.4 million in the previous financial year returned CIC to the Sh1 billion-and-above net profit club for the first time in seven years.
