S.Africa: Small Black Bank to fire 30% of staff due to economic hardships – My Comments

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DURBAN – African Bank said yesterday that it planned to retrench a third of its workforce to contend with Covid-19 and the slowdown in business volumes that has affected its profitability in its operations.

The bank said that 1269 of its 3728 employees would lose their jobs as it restructured to meet the new realities imposed by the pandemic.

Chief executive Basani Maluleke said that they had been deliberate in reducing costs in all areas of their business.

“The undertaking of a consultation process with our employees is the last resort to further reduce costs,” Maluleke said. “Our intention throughout the process will be to consider appropriate measures to avoid and minimise potential job terminations. During these unsettling times, we will continue to deliver the exceptional service to which our customers have become accustomed.”

Last year Absa Bank, Nedbank and Standard Bank cut a combined 6680 employees across their operations.

African Bank is a 100percent subsidiary of African Bank Holdings (ABH) and ABH is an unlisted registered bank controlling company under the Banks Act.

In the six months to end March results, the group reported muted results given the challenging socioeconomic environment and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the results, on a pre-Covid-19 adjustment basis, after removing the pandemic-specific charges totalling R614million, the net profit after tax, year-on-year, decreased by 6 percent to R503m, and on a post-Covid-19 adjustment basis the group results were negatively impacted by the Covid-19 specific provisions, which resulted in a net loss after tax of R111m compared to a profit of R533m reported last year.

Source: https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/companies/african-bank-to-retrench-staff-because-covid-19-hurt-profitability-in-operations-c1c92077-5157-4784-b329-2d72cc612be5

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