…Says we disengaged them to delve into full Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and digital operation
Telecommunications giant, MTN has disengaged 280 of its employees in Nigeria.
Staff affected include some 200 permanent employees and about 80 contract staff across various cadres, ranging from new graduates to senior managers.
It was gathered that workers were given a severance of 75% of their gross monthly income multiplied by the number of years with the company.
“Given that the company is about 16 years old in Nigeria, the severance package brought pain and discontent among the affected staff,” a source told newsmen in Lagos.
“With the payoff structure, senior managers with 15 years of service were left with about N15 million. Most of the staff got less than N5 million.”
However, responding to why it took the decision, the company said it disengaged the 280 workers because it wanted to delve into full Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and digital operations.
An official who pleaded anonymity told newsmen in Lagos on Monday, said that the company would inject another group of new employees, capable of delivering on it new goals.
The source said that the disengagement was necessary because of the changing dynamics of the telecommunications industry in recent time.
The source said that MTN had in March informed its staff that it would disengage some of them.
The source said that the service provider introduced the Voluntary Severance Scheme (VSS), urging staff to apply for voluntary disengagement.
According to the source, only 200 workers applied for the VSS, while 80 were given compulsory disengagement.
The source added that those affected were those who had worked for five years and above in the company.
The source said that the affected workers were given a severance pay of 75 per cent of their gross monthly income, multiplied by the number of years they had worked with the company.
“Those who decided to leave under the VSS were paid the equivalent of their three weeks gross salary for every year they worked with MTN.
“What it means is that if one worked in MTN for five years, one would be paid three weeks of the person’s gross salary times five,” the source said.
According to the source, all 280 staff were paid their benefits.