NSE companies spend Sh2.7bn on staff layoffs

Eight Nairobi Securities Exchange #ticker:NSE (NSE)-listed firms spent Sh2.7 billion to lay off workers last year as others cut their employee numbers through natural attrition, disclosures in the companies’ annual reports have shown.

The staff redundancies raise queries on the ability of Kenya’s economic growth to generate quality jobs for millions of unemployed youths. The economy grew by 6.3 percent last year but some analysts have said this was not felt in some sectors. The economy rebounded last year from a growth rate of 4.9 percent in 2017, but companies continued to shed off workers citing a difficult business environment.