The National Bank of Kenya Eldoret Branch (Photo/Standard)
150 employees of the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) are set to be sent home after the bank received approval to offer voluntary early retirement to workers over the age of 35.
NBK Managing Director Wilfred Musau in a statement said that the bank was seeking to “align the staff headcount with the needs of the bank”.
“The process is expected to be concluded in the coming week and successful applicants will be released from the bank’s employment effective 1st February, 2018,” read the statement by National Bank.
In 2014, the bank laid off 200 employees in the same voluntary program.
However, employees who have worked for at least five year and they are above 35 will be offered a severance pay equal to one month salary while employees older than 50 years will receive a severance pay equal to two months salary for each year they have served.
It is unclear how much the bank will spend this time round.
Kenyan banks have heavily slashed their staff counts since the interest rate caps were implemented in 2016.
Data from the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) shows that 1,933 employees were let go between August 2016 and June 2017.