The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had revealed
that 8,663 workers lost their jobs in the first half of
2017.
Data made available by the NBS showed that an
average of 360 people were sacked every week from
January to June 2017.
The figures, according to The Cable, were higher in
the first quarter and lower in the second.
According to a report titled: ‘Selected Banking Sector
Data: Sectoral Breakdown of Credit, ePayment
Channels and Staff Strength,’ released by the bureau
last Sunday, a total of 8,663 lost their jobs and more
contract staff were employed during the period.
In the first quarter of 2017, there were 174 executive
staff but the figure reduced to 161 in the second
quarter.
From 20,483 senior staff in the first quarter, the
number dropped to 19,826 in the second quarter.
The drop was larger in the junior staff category
where the number dropped to 33,783 in the second
quarter from 36,202 in the first quarter.
However, the number of contract staff increased
from 20,237 in the first quarter to 21,837 in the
second quarter.
In January, Heritage bank had sacked 400 workers
although Fela Ibidapo, the bank’s head of corporate
communications, had said the figures were incorrect
adding that the mass sack was not limited to the bank
but it cut across all operators in the industry.
In May, Ecobank Nigeria, a subsidiary of the Ecobank
Group had merged 74 branches saying it was
embracing digital channels which would reduce the
need of visiting physical locations.
In 2016, Chris Ngige, minister of labour had warned
banks to desist from the banking spree the industry
embarked on.
This did not yield any result as First Bank last week,
sacked over 300 staff.

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