Communication
Airtel restructures, fires Nigerian workforce
By Yemie ADEOYE
LAGOS- THERE are high indications that a major crises may be looming in Airtel Nigeria as the company is said to have commenced move to drastically reduce a section of its workforce in a move it termed right-sizing and a strategic re-structuring.
Biztellers gathered that the mass retrenchment may not be affecting less than 30 percent of the company’s workforce in Nigeria, all of whom are said to be indigenous Nigerian workers.
In a statement issued and signed by the company’s Spokesman, Emeka Oparah, Airtel is said to be embarking on a strategic restructuring that will reposition the business and reinforce its competitiveness in the market place.
“The exercise, which is focused on aligning the company’s structure with its operating model, also entails a right-sizing that will impact a section of our current workforce.
We wish to assure that, in accordance with best practice, a robust plan has been put in place to cushion the effect of the exercise on the impacted employees and ensure that the process is seamless.
One of the key objectives is to create a high performing organization, which satisfies the needs of all of our stakeholders, especially our customers, as we step into the next growth phase of our operation”. it reads in part.
it would be recalled that key individuals in the company’s management team have resigned from the company over poor condition of service since the takeover of the company by the Bharti Group of India.
A staff of the company who spoke to our reporter on the condition of anonymity stated that the Indians are better favoured even against their Nigerian counterparts with superior qualifications and years of experience according to him ” a situation where Nigerians do the most part of the job and foreigners take the most part of the glory is not and can not be sustainable in any work environment.
I don’t personally know what the problem is with the owners in India, I just know that a lot of the conditions of service that are of industry standards and practicable in other telecoms companies have since been taken off by the Indians. A situation where almost 30 percent of the workforce are being asked to go is lamentable. if the company is broke they should let the people know. I blame all these on improper regulation by both the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Ministry of Labour” he enthused.
In a significant market projection, Mordor Intelligence predicts that the Nigerian telecom sector is set to surge to a value of $11.43 billion by 2029.
The report anticipates a steady growth trajectory with a cumulative average growth rate (CAGR) of 4.70% between 2024 and 2029, based on the current market value of $9.09 billion.
The transformation of Nigeria’s telecom landscape, fueled by government initiatives to boost internet infrastructure and broadband connectivity, coupled with rising data consumption, 5G deployments, and innovative strategies from major telecom players, is expected to drive this substantial market expansion.
The report underscores additional factors propelling the growth of Nigeria’s telecom sector, emphasizing the surge in smartphone adoption.
the report said “Increased smartphone adoption in Nigeria has fueled the development of a dynamic digital services sector. Currently, millions of Nigerians use mobile apps, including social networking sites, e-commerce, and financial services.
“These apps could leverage smartphones’ capabilities to offer speed, convenience, and efficiency, encouraging more people to invest in smartphones.
“In addition to these expansions and collaborations, the growing adoption of digital technologies and government support in aiding the same alongside the 5G technology implementation across the country is analyzed to boost the demand for telecom towers significantly.”
“In addition to these expansions and collaborations, the growing adoption of digital technologies and government support in aiding the same alongside the 5G technology implementation across the country is analyzed to boost the demand for telecom towers significantly.”
Mordor Intelligence highlights that the flourishing e-commerce and digital service platforms in Nigeria are significant drivers behind the escalating demand for dependable telecom services in the country.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has granted MTN’s request to partially disconnect Globacom (Glo) from its network owing to unsettled interconnect charges.
Reuben Muoka, the NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, disclosed this in a document named ‘Pre-Disconnection Notice’ on Monday.
The move follows Glo’s persistent failure to clear its outstanding debts despite multiple attempts to resolve the issue.
Under this partial disconnection, Globacom subscribers will solely receive calls from MTN users, while retaining access to other network services like outgoing calls to other networks and data services.
However, they won’t be able to initiate calls to MTN users during this period.
The statement read, “All subscribers are, therefore requested to take notice that the Commission has approved the Partial Disconnection of Globacom to MTN in accordance with Section 100 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003 and Paragraph 9 of the Guidelines on Procedure for Granting Approval to Disconnect Telecommunications Operators, 2012.
“At the expiration of 10 days from January 8, 2024, subscribers of Globacom will no longer be able to make calls to MTN but will be able to receive calls.
“The Partial Disconnection, however, will allow in-bound calls to the Globacom network,” it added
Nigerian telecommunication users, along with others within the country, expended a total of N3.33 trillion on various telecom services such as calls, data, SMS, and more throughout 2022, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
This information comes from the recently published ‘2022 Subscriber/Network Data Annual Report’ by the NCC, which also revealed that telecom companies generated N3.33 trillion in overall revenue for that year.
The report further highlights a noteworthy growth of active voice subscriptions, rising from 195,463,898 subscriptions in 2021 to 222,571,568 by December 2022, marking a 13.86% year-on-year increase.
Commenting on the increase, it said, “The increase in the Operators’ subscriber base was attributed to a number of reasons which includes subscriber loyalty, promos, seasonal effects, aggressive consumer acquisition drive, and competitive product offerings across all the networks.”
It noted that the growth in active subscriptions impacted positively on other derived telecom indicators such as teledensity, Internet penetration as well as broadband penetration.
Data usage also continued its surge in 2022. It increased by 46.77 per cent to 518,381.78TB as of the end of the year.
The NCC stated, “There was an increase in the volume of data consumed at the year-end December 2022 when compared with the year-end December 2021.
“The total volume of data consumed by subscribers increased to 518,381.78TB as of December 2022 from 353,118.89TB as of December 2021. This represents an increase of 46.77 per cent in data consumption within the period.”
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