Ecobank Nigeria has sacked 400 of its workers.



The company, in a statement signed by its Head, Brand and Communications, Mr. Ola Akinnola, on Wednesday, said the designed to help the bank consolidate and optimise its operations.



The Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Jibril Aku, who announced the shake-up, according to the statement, said the action was necessary predicated on the move to drive performance and deliver optimum value to all its stakeholders with a highly efficient structure.



He assured customers of unhindered service delivery and pledged that Ecobank would live up to its vision of building a world-class pan-African bank that would contribute to the economic development and financial integration of the whole of Africa.



The bank had last year, reportedly retrenched workers as part of measures to cut costs following the banking reforms initiated by the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Mr. Lamido Sanusi.



But the action of the management was said to have angered the workers, who immediately reported the development to the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and other Financial Institutions.



ASSBIFI had then vowed to challenge the bank, alleging that the action was undertaken without due process.



The association alleged that the affected employees were laid off for irrelevant reasons, adding that the bank failed to adhere to collective agreement and bargaining process stipulated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Labour Act.



The President, ASSBIFI, Ecobank Unit, Mr. Gogo Anyanwu, had in April confirmed that the bank had reinstated four of the 25 workers sacked in 2009.



But the bank had continued to embark on a number of expansion projects. For instance, it floated its new capital markets and investment banking arm, Ecobank Capital, at an African investment conference in New York in September.



The bank also last week announced the opening of a representative office in Dubai to facilitate capital flow between the Middle East and Africa.

SOURCE:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2010101413235493