Over 7,000 Kenyans Lose Jobs in Mass Layoff of Workers

At least 7,000 Kenyans have lost their jobs in 2019 alone in a spate of mass layoffs that have hit more than 10 companies in the country.

Companies from nearly all sectors including finance, telecommunications, agriculture, manufacturing, energy and ICT have been affected.

The affected companies cited restructuring, reduced profits, hostile business environment, and high cost of labor and production, among others, as the reasons for the retrenchment of workers.

The following is a list of companies that announced mass lay-off of employees in 2019:

1. Air Afrik
At the beginning of October, the aviation company announced it would lay-off 200 workers from Kenya and Sudan following massive losses.

The company said it suffered losses amounting to Sh2.1 in leasing contract and laid the blame on its financial partner.

“We understand this is a challenging time for our team, but these steps were necessitated following ….negligent errors, oversight, and unlawful actions,” the company said in a statement.

2. Finlay Flowers
The Kericho-based flower farming multinational announced it will close two farms by December 25th citing oversupply in Europe among other factors.

The closure of the two farms will see over 1,000 workers lose their jobs. Last year, Finlays laid-off 1,800 workers.

“It is no secret that in the last 18 months, the flower industry has been facing severe challenges” read part of the statement by Finlays.

3. SportPesa
This month, the leading betting company halted its operations in the country, sending home at least 400 workers. SportPesa cited the government’s hostility and stringent taxation and regulations laws enacted by parliament.

4. Betin
A similar predicament that befell SportPesa also affected its main competitor, Betin. In September, Betin announced the closure of its business operations in Kenya, a move that rendered at least 2,500 people jobless.

5. Andela
On September 17th, the US-headquartered IT-innovation hub announced the lay-off of 175 of its junior workers as market demand shifted towards more experienced software engineers.

6. Ola Energy 
The oil marketer said it would lay-off workers in a voluntary early retirement scheme affecting close to 200 workers.

7. East Africa Portland Cement
In August, the cement manufacturer announced it planned to lay off all of its 600 workers in a reorganization plan. The company’s management declared its entire staff redundant, requiring them to reapply for their jobs.

8. Telkom Kenya
Telkom Kenya in August announced it would retrench 575 employees prior to the planned merger with Airtel. 

The telecom company was left with only 225 employees following the layoff that took effect from September 1st.

9. Stanbic Bank
Last month, Stanbic Bank Kenya announced the planned retrenchment of 88 workers in an early retirement scheme. The exercise is expected to conclude by November.

10. East African Breweries Limited (EABL)
EABL, owned by London-based Diageo announced it would lay off 100 employees in its Nairobi Centre. The beer company planned to relocate its business service Centre from Nairobi.