Opportunity Bank of Malawi in job cuts of 250 employees, half of its work force

Opportunity Bank of Malawi  is retrenching 250 employees, almost half of its 450 work force, Nyasa Times understands.

Deputy CEO Bernard Mkandawire confirmed the job cuts.

“We will downsize the staff but  I cannot certainly confirm the numbers now,” he said.

A meeting has been scheduled Thursday when the employees will be briefed on the retrenchment exercise.

Nyasa Times sources say the retrenchment is as a direct result of the economic turmoil the country is going through coupled with electricity black outs which negatively affected their clients.

Officials from the bank refused to comment when contacted on Wednesday promising a press release on Thursday but Nyasa Times sources says no branch will be closed down.

“The remaining staff will man all the branches across the country,” said a bank top official.

The bank retrenched over 70 employees last year.

Finance minister Goodall Gondwe is upbeat the economy will pick up and be fixed this year.

“This year the inflation is expected to fall very very deeply, followed by the reduction of interest rates which should make the economy bounce back,” he said.

He said this year, the economy is expected to grow by 5.6 per cent as opposed to last year’s growth by two to three per cent.