tmp_13261-201612_Nigeria-in-2017941746745

These cuts have been broad based and wide
ranging. SBM Intelligence tallies of thirdparty
reports and other data sources reveal
job losses at about 495,000 across various
formal sectors – a number which we believe
significantly understates the extent of job
losses in the economy, because of denials by
companies. Some of the most significant cuts
have been in sectors that have traditionally
performed well since the country returned
to democratic rule – banking, oil and gas
and telecoms. After Nigeria’s commercial
banks laid off an estimated 3300 employees
in the first half of the year, investor anxiety
rose about the health of the nation’s banking
sector. Labour and Employment minister,
Chris Ngige admonished big finance to “obey
all laws of the land, including labour laws
concerning redundancy.” The most biting
cuts however, have been in Nigeria’s ailing
manufacturing sector.
Job cuts per quarter – NB: this does not include job losses reported in the media but later denied
by the employers. Source -SBM Intelligence.
About 50 major manufacturing companies
had either closed shop or relocated to
neighbouring countries, at the cost of at least
180,000 jobs, according to the Manufacturers
Association of Nigeria (MAN). The association
stated that the foreign exchange controls by
the Central Bank of Nigeria on 41 items on
a now infamous ‘restrictions list’ have had
the effect of crippling the sector. Two of the
nation’s largest industrial employers, Erisco
Foods, a tomato paste maker, and Innoson
Manufacturing, a vehicle manufacturer, have
announced wide ranging job cuts. Erisco,
once touted as a Nigerian success story
22