NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 31 – Sasini last year reduced its workforce by 267 as the adoption of technology, including mechanized tea plucking, took up manual jobs.
The agricultural firm’s latest annual financial report shows that its employee numbers dropped from 2,567 between January and September 2022 to 2,300 during a similar period last year.
Staff working on farms were mostly affected, as their numbers fell from 2,401 to 2,130 in the review period.
However, employees in the management position grew from 166 to 170, as the report shows.
“The continuing digitization in our operations and technological intervention through the investment in mechanized tea harvesting has helped us in reducing wastage, increasing efficiencies and containing cost of production. We have extended these benefits to select outgrower farmers looking to have all our outgrower farming community in the partnership loop,” the firms wrote in its latest report.
“Our successful mechanization of harvesting and application of fertilizers using drones in our tea business has greatly improved our efficiency, cut our production costs and enhanced the quality of tea we produce for the market. This initiative is being extended to the automation of our tea factories.”
The trimming of the workforce saw the company save Sh22.05 million in staff costs during the period.
Changes came after the company posted a net profit of Sh542.55 million, buoyed by strong performance from tea and avocado businesses.
“This was a drop from the prior year’s record achievement of KShs 1,168 million, occasioned by losses encountered in the coffee and macadamia business units due to reasons explained above.”
