NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 31-The NCBA Bank has declared a combined voluntary exit and redundancy plan in a bid to reduce its wage bill citing impeded growth occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
NCBA Bank Group Managing Director John Gachora told staff in a memo that the challenging operating environment has superseded the bank’s expectation of creating incremental opportunities after forming a combined entity in 2019 following the merger of NIC Group and Commercial bank of Africa to become NCBA.
“At the onset of the merger, I shared with you that my goal would be to retain all staff from the combined entities. I shared this objective with the expectation that our ambitious growth agenda would create numerous incremental opportunities for the combined workforce,” said Gachora.
The voluntary exit program will be available to all full-time and permanent employees of NCBA and who were yet to tender resignation letters as of yesterday.
Under the VER plan, workers will get a salary to the last day at work, exit payment will be calculated at the rate of one month’s salary for each completed year of service or payment for the months to retirement whichever is lower.
NCBA has also offered the staffers a 10 percent discount on outstanding loans if settled in full within six months after exit, among others.
“All colleagues who are interested in participating in the Voluntary Exit Program should apply to Monica Kihia, Group Director Human Resources with a copy to their respective Business Group Director and Apollo Asol, Deputy Director Human Resources within two weeks i.e from October 30th to November 16th, 2020,” reads the statement.
At the same time, the Redundancy Program will be implemented simultaneously depending on the outcomes of the Voluntary Exit Program.
“Management will inform all staff impacted by the redundancy program by November 30th, 2020 giving one month’s notice as per Employment Act guidelines,” Gachora added.
All affected employees will be released from employment by latest December 31st, 2020.
In June, NCBA Group shut 14 of its branches in Kenya due to Covid-19, which has reduced business activities on extended state restrictions on mass gathering as it eyes cost savings.
At that time, the bank did not mention how many employees would be affected by the exercise.
