This archive report was first published on 6 January 2020.
Published on January 6, 2020, Sameer Africa, a struggling tyre distributor, has announced plans to lay off over 50 employees starting February 1.
The firm, which stopped local manufacturing of Yana Tyres in 2016 and opted to outsource to Asia, has been struggling to stay afloat.
According to a notice to the Nairobi County labour office, acting managing director Peter Gitonga said the company would be restructuring and terminating employment contracts of approximately 52 employees drawn from both management and unionisable cadres.
Sameer Africa has a history of layoffs, having laid off 168 workers in 2017, reducing its workforce to less than 168 staff members by early 2018.
Additionally, the firm sacked its CEO Simon Ngigi in August 2019, just a few months after his appointment in October 2018.
Chairman Erastus Mwongera confirmed the notice, stating that the company has been restructuring since changing its business model from manufacturing to retail.
Sameer Africa's net loss widened 15.8 times to Sh182.8 million in the first six months of 2019, with stock-outs and counterfeit products complicating its recovery effort.
