NBK to lay off 150 workers in early retirement plan

The National Bank of Kenya (NBK) #ticker:NBK is set to send home 150 employees.

The bank said that it had received approval to offer voluntary early retirement to employees over the age of 35 who have worked for the company for at least five years.
Managing Director Wilfred Musau said the bank was seeking to “align the staff headcount with the needs of the bank”.

“The process is expected to be concluded in the coming week and successful applicants will be released from the bank’s employment effective 1st February, 2018,” said National Bank in a statement.

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Severance pay

It is unclear how much the bank will spend this time round but workers will be offered a severance pay equal to either one-month salary for each year of service.

Employees older than 50 years will get a severance pay equal to two months’ salary for each year they have worked at National Bank.

The lender laid off 200 employees in 2014 in a similar voluntary retirement plan.

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Kenyan banks have heavily slashed their staff counts since the interest rate caps were implemented in 2016.

Data from the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) shows that 1,933 employees were let go between August 2016 and June 2017.

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