At least 223 employees were sent home from KCB last year in a move that saw the bank spend Sh. 186 million to settle their retrenchment dues.
The bank closed the 2016 year with 7,192 employees compared to 7,415 the previous year as restructuring costs shot up by Sh. 145 million from the previous year’s Sh. 41 million.
During the same financial year, KCB issued about 2,500 of its Kenyan staff with new contracts. This saw the amending of their terms and conditions, a move which the banking industry’s union contested in court.
The bank is expected to continue sending employees home as it moves to digitize its operations. For instance, in February this year, KCB announced it was in the process of laying off an undisclosed number of staff in its Kenyan unit to cut expenses following “fast evolving technology changes, and a dynamic regulatory regime.”
