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Uchumi workers now want in on ongoing talks to restructure chain

uchumi

An Uchumi outlet in the city centre. PHOTO | FILE

A workers union has written to the Uchumi Supermarkets board seeking involvement in the ongoing restructuring of the retail chain, which it says could lead to retrenchment of its members.

The financially troubled Uchumi has announced a freeze on expansion plans and a possible closure of underperforming branches.

The retailer also sacked its chief executive Jonathan Ciano over what it termed as gross misconduct and negligence, which it says left its finances in the red.

“As you are fully aware, we represent the interest of over 812 unionisable employees in the supermarket chain who are likely to be positively or negatively affected by the restructuring plans,” reads the letter to Uchumi Supermarkets signed by the secretary general of the Kenya Union of Commercial Food and Allied Workers, Boniface Kavuvi.

“This is to ask you to involve this union fully in all the restructuring plans so that the employees’ views are taken on board.”

Uchumi is seeking to reduce its workforce to an unspecified figure to cut down on its strained budget and return the listed retailer to profitability.

READ: Uchumi Supermarkets to cut jobs, gets Sh500m KCB loan

The supermarket currently has 40 branches and 4,500 workers spread across Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.

The closure of the targeted outlets will be based on performance and location. The union says that failure to involve it and the workers from the restructuring could cause labour unrest.

Uchumi’s poor performance has been associated with poor management and poorly thought-out expansion heavily funded through bank loans, which strained its cash flows.

A forensic audit is also ongoing to verify claims that the retailer’s staff were involved in procurement of goods and services through phantom companies that denied the retailer profit margins enjoyed by its competitors.

Uchumi wants to sell its 20-acre piece of land in Nairobi to raise Sh2.2 billion, part of which will go to paying its suppliers.