“We Are Embarking On Strategic Restructuring” Airtel Nigeria Explains Abrupt Sack Of Hundreds Of Staffers With Bumper Pay.

“Airtel Nigeria is embarking on a strategic restructuring that will reposition the business and reinforce its competitiveness in the market place” is how Director, Corporate Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility of Airtel, Mr. Emeka Opara explained the abrupt sack of many staffers of the telecommunications with bumper pay.

The sacked workers were reportedly disengaged from employment with termination letters on Friday November 13 2015.

This is how online platform thelight provided packaged the development
Airtel

One of Nigeria’s telecoms companies, Airtel, has sacked hundreds of its members of staff across different departments and various parts of the country.

The affected employees from some departments, who were ‘caught unawares,’ received their sack letters last Friday. “We were served the sack letters on Friday and as I received my letter, I just walked out,” says one of the affected workers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The ex-worker explained, “the development was shocking as I don’t have any other job.” Another female worker of the company, who also did not want her name mentioned, explained that the development left her devastated. Industry analysts say the development is a reflection of the distress being faced by most of the operators in the nation’s telecoms industry.

“What we heard is that about 30 per cent of us were sacked and I just hope that I would have a second chance to be re-absorbed,” a staff revealed

However, another worker affected by the Airtel action said that he was still happy with the way the telecoms company went about the restructuring exercise, claiming that Airtel paid workers that were laid off four-months salaries upfront to assuage the effect of the exercise on them.

“Though the development came as a rude shock, I still believe that Airtel has been fair because when they gave us the letters last Friday, we were paid up till the 15th month, meaning that they paid us for November, December 2015 and for January, February and March next year.

Director, Corporate Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility of Airtel, Mr. Emeka Oparah, confirmed that there was an ongoing staff restructuring exercise.

“Airtel Nigeria is embarking on a strategic restructuring that will reposition the business and reinforce its competitiveness in the market place,” he said. He was, however, silent on the percentage of the workforce affected. According to him, “the exercise, which is focused on aligning the company’s structure with its operating model, also entails a right-sizing that will impact a section of our current workforce.” He assured that in accordance with best practice, a robust plan had been put in place to cushion the effect of the exercise on the impacted employees and ensure that the process is seamless.

“One of the key objectives is to create a high performing organisation, which satisfies the needs of all of our stakeholders, especially our customers, as we step into the next growth phase of our operation,” he said. Another source told New Telegraph that “the affected staff received three months salaries in lieu of notice and an additional one month for every year they have worked.”

Airtel Nigeria, which used to be the second largest telecoms company in subscriber base, narrowly lost its second place to Globacom in the second quarter of 2014.According to the latest industry status report released by the telecoms regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), there were 150.6 million active mobile subscriptions on telecoms networks with teledensity standing at 107.61. Of this figure, MTN Nigeria had 62.4 million, Globacom came second with 31.3 million, Airtel had 31.1 million while Etisalat came fourth with 23.4 million subscribers. Telecoms operators have been facing declining revenue with increased operational expenditure (OPEX) and capital expenditure (CAPEX).

The development is worsened with the decline in the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). ARPU, which hitherto stood at up to $10, has fallen to about $6 currently. To cut down their CAPEX and OPEX, telecoms companies including Airtel, have taken a business decision to outsource most of its infrastructure, especially base stations (BTS), to a third party infrastructure management company. Already, as a result of the distress the telecoms company is facing, it has sold over half of its telecoms towers in Nigeria and other African countries where it is operating.