Frustrated Capital FM director Mary-Ann Musangi has resorted to mass sacking after employees rejected a pay cut that was meant to reduce the media house’s financial burden.
In a memo dated December 2, 2022, Ms Musangi revealed that the media house was planning to send out salary reduction notice in November, but opted to backtrack after facing opposition from majority of the employees.
Out of the media house’s 112 employees, Ms Musangi said that only seven agreed to pay cuts, despite the media house recording shrinking fortunes since 2018.
“From 2018 to date, the company has been making losses and our liabilities far exceed the revenues we have generated. The situation is so dire that we are not able to meet some of our critical financial obligations,” Ms Musangi told the employees.
Capital FM, run for many years by the late businessman Chris Kirubi, had a long stint of success until the owner was taken įll and took off from daily management. Covid-19 became the straw that exposed the company’s underbelly – revenues slumped as advertising on radio and the website dropped. As a result, the media house had implemented a salary cut for all employees, which lasted for over two years.
“Early 2022, our revenues started to improve and in April 2022 we reinstated full salary pay. This decision was based on continued growth of revenues enabling 100% salary pay – a commitment you as staff made to each other. Unfortunately, this action of reinstating 100% salary did not motivate the staff to continue driving the revenue targets and we have since witnessed a further slump in revenues which has put the company deeper in the red,” Musangi said.
“The reality is that even after engaging in consultation with employees, only 7 members of staff out of 112 have consented to the proposed salary reductions. We are therefore unable to gain traction with this proposal put forward and in compliance with the Employment Act, we are left with no option but to defer the proposal and radically rethink the future of our business.”
Ms Musangi has indicated that the media house will not be implement the proposed salary reductions with effect from this month, December 2022. However, the move will lead to forced exits according to Ms Musangi, even as the station looks to reduce operating costs.
“But the fact remains – the company is in huge financial difficulty and cannot continue to operate under the current conditions. The options moving forward will involve a restructuring of the business. Once we have defined the way forward, we will inform you on the next steps,” she added.
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