COVID-19: “No bank in Nigeria shall retrench or layoff staff of any cadre” – CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has instructed banks in the country not to retrench or layoff any staff of any cadre due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CBN in a statement by its Director of Corporate Communication, Isaac Okoroafor, on Sunday, said it reached the resolution after a special meeting of the Bankers’ Committee convened on Saturday May 2, 2020, to review the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian banking industry.

“The Committee particularly deliberated on the issue of the operating costs of banks in view of the disruptions emanating from the global economic difficulties,” Okoroafor said.

It is believed that the meeting was prompted by the decision of Access Bank to layoff 75 per cent of its workforce and execute 40 per cent pay cut, beginning from the CEO. The bank’s Managing Director, Herbert Wigwe, announced the plan during a virtual meeting with the bank’s staff last week.

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CBN’s statement read: “In order to help minimize and mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on families and livelihoods, no bank in Nigeria shall retrench or lay-off any staff of any cadre (including full-time and part-time).

“To give effect to the above measure, the express approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria shall be required in the event that it becomes absolutely necessary to lay-off any such staff.”