Skye Bank Plc on Monday succumbed to the gale of retrenchment that has hit the banking industry as it sliced off 175 employees from its labour force.
This coming less than a week after Minister of Labour and productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, directed banks to shelf further retrenchment of workers until some unresolved labot issues were settled. .
The bank said in a statement that the affected workers failed the year 2015 appraisal exercise.
The statement reads in part, “The staff disengagement exercise is coming a year after the bank’s successful integration with the erstwhile Mainstreet Bank, which it acquired in October 2014; the integration exercise described by analysts as a landmark in Nigeria’s banking industry has significantly improved Skye Bank’s ICT capacity and helped strengthen the bank’s service delivery.
“The bank extended its appreciation to the affected staff for serving the bank, describing them as members of the family who will always be accorded deserving respect in their future dealings with the bank.”
Skye Bank is adjudged by the Central Bank of Nigeria as one of the systemically important banks with over N1.3tn balance sheet, and has over 400 branches.
The Rainbow had reported exclusively early in May of the massive lay offs in the banking industry, with almost all the banks affected.
First Bank, FCMB, Ecobank, Diamond Bank have announced figures, while the likes of Guranty Trust bank, UBA are said to be handling their own more discreetly.
Ngige had on Friday directed that all the retrenchments done in the past four months should be put on hold pending the outcome of a proposed stakeholders’ summit for employers and employees of the banking, insurance and financial institutions scheduled for the first week of July.
“Following the high spate of petitions and complaints from stakeholders in the banking, insurance and financial institutions, I hereby direct the suspension of the ongoing retrenchment in the sector pending the outcome of the conciliatory meetings in the industry,” Ngige had said.
