Staff of Zenith Bank plc were left in shock following the
decision of the bank to massively sack its top
management workforce.
Employees of Zenith Bank PLC, one of Nigeria’s leading
new generation banks, were hit with a sad news today
as over 1,200 were sacked on Wednesday, Premium
Times reports.
Although a source said about 240 people were sacked,
including eight General Managers and 40 Assistant
General Managers, it is likely that more than that number
of people were dismissed.
According to Stella Dimoko Korku s a source is quoted
as saying: "This past weekend, Zenith bank sacked more
than 2,000 staff. There was no warning, no rumors,
nothing!
"As a matter of fact, two Executive Directors were
promoted to Deputy Managing Director by Jim Ovia
himself last week and some other top management were
also promoted.
"Most of the staff believed there was an imminent mass
staff promotion looming soonest and went home for the
weekend with joy and hope.
"So you can imagine the shock when a lot of people
were notified on Saturday up till today that their services
are no longer required. And more sack to continue even
this week.
"In this harsh economy and with Christmas a month
away, what a cruel inhumane thing to do.
Most of these
people have worked for more than 10years, staying loyal
to the brand. Some have made sacrifices for this bank
but were la!d off so wickedly.
"Where is the Minister of labour in this country? Did they
not notify banks to cease laying off their staff? Oh I
weep for my country Nigeria! I weep for the sacked staff
and their families! I weep, Oh I weep!”
Another source added: “A formal meeting was held with
the affected staff since Monday this week, where details
of their disengagement benefits were discussed and
agreement reached."
Recently, Access Bank, which acquired former
Intercontinental Bank, sacked 1,600 of its workers
across the nation, while Mainstreet Bank, one of the
three nationalised banks is reported to have equally sent
more than 400 of its workers away for a similar reason.
