This archive report was first published on 9 September 2019.
Published on September 9, 2019, Botswana-based Choppies Supermarket has laid off over 200 workers in Kenya, citing reduced business and unsustainable wage bills.
The affected workers received termination letters signed by the company's Human Resource Manager Joshua Were, citing redundancy as the reason for the layoffs.
The letters, dated August 31, 2019, indicate that the company is in talks with the Kenya Union of Commercial Food and Allied Workers (Kucfaw) to negotiate a favorable compensation package for the affected workers.
According to the letters, the affected workers will not be required to report to work during the one-month notice period, but will receive their September salary in full, up to September 30, 2019, plus one month's notice.
The development comes just days after Choppies Supermarket notified its shareholders of plans to exit the Kenyan market, four years after venturing into the local market through the acquisition of Ukwala stores for Sh1 billion.
Choppies Supermarket held an extraordinary general meeting last Wednesday, where it announced that it had listed its Kenyan assets for sale and classified its 12 stores as distressed.
Some of the affected employees have expressed concerns that they should have been given their dues before being shown the door, and that the company's management made a hasty decision to issue the termination letters without consulting the union leadership.
