Retire or get sacked, Standard CEO tells staff

Standard Group management has set in motion its retrenchment process by giving staff two very unpleasant options – retire voluntarily or get sacked. This has complicated matters for its anxious employees who find themselves between a rock and a hard surface.

The directive is double-edged. First, it is targeted at pushing out older employees earning big salaries or adding little value to the company’s operations. Second, it is hoped to entice younger but unproductive or highly paid staff to opt out and look for employment elsewhere.

Speaking at a staff meeting held this morning at Standard Centre on Mombasa Road, group Managing Director Sam Shollei gave employees a month to apply for optional early retirement before the retrenchment exercise is implemented.

In what appears to be a poisoned bait, Mr Shollei said staff members who opt for the early retirement will get a better send-off package compared to those who wait to be sacked. The package will depend on the number of years worked, one’s salary and whether or not one is unionisable.

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Mr Shollei said  the clean-up will affect workers in over-staffed departments, those who are not adding value to the company and those who are “not ready to stretch themselves after the retrenchment.”

The applications for early retirement will be evaluated to ensure that the company doesn’t lose valuable talent, he said. If the response won’t be good, the company will retrench based on its evaluation.

Standard is targeting to offload about 25% of employees to cut its payroll expense while increasing productivity per individual.  All departments will be trimmed, including management and editorial.

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