Eight banks in the country in 2020 sacked about 3,754 workers despite warnings by the Central Bank of Nigeria against it.
The apex bank had in May 2020 warned banks against the sack of employees as speculation of mass retrenchment in the sector made the round following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
However, the total number of staff among the banks surveyed dropped by 7.31 percent from 51,350 in 2019 to 47,596 in 2020.
None of the banks’ financial statements submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange made a clear explanation on why there was a cut down in staff strength.
Out of the eight banks surveyed, only Zenith and Fidelity banks increased their staff strength.
Zenith Bank added 139 fresh faces to increase its staff strength from 7, 405 to 7,544 in 2020.
Also, Fidelity added 12 new staff to increase its workforce from 2,933 to 2,945 last year.
Access Bank, United Bank for Africa, Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank, Union Bank, and First City Monument Bank all cut down on their staff strength.
Strikingly, 63.9 percent of the staff cut was carried out by UBA.
