KCB parts with 709 employees as staff costs hit Sh19 billion

NAIROBI, KENYA: Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) trimmed its workforce by 709 in 12 months to December last year even as it announced a restructuring exercise to cut on costs.

Details contained in the latest investor presentation covering the financial year ended December 31, 2017 shows that the group now has 6,483 staffs. As at December 2016, employee head count was 7,192.

This drop could be attributed to the restructuring exercise that was announced in April last year as the bank announced that it wanted to save at least Sh2 billion per annum in staff costs.

Restructuring, the bank said, was necessary to align the bank to an industry whose outlook has been dimmed by legislative and regulatory reforms, and fast evolving technology platforms that are now attracting non-traditional players into the financial services sector.

On June 30, the bank is also set to close KCB Kericho East branch, KCB ICD Kibarani branch, and KCB Moi International Airport branch in a move that signals the industry’s bold step in automating most of its services.

Its staff size has been dropping since reaching a high of 7,509 in 2015. This means that between December 2015 and December last year, 1,026 employees have parted ways with the lender.

In 2013, the group also carried out a similar restructuring exercise that saw its staff size drop by 1,045. This was at a cost of Sh1.17 billion.

Despite cutting the jobs, the group’s staff costs have been rising since 2012 hitting a high of Sh19.15 billion last year. In 2016, the group had spent Sh17.72 billion on personnel. Last year’s expenditure translates to Sh1.43 billion rise.