MTN sacks 252 workers

Dwindling revenues appear to be taking their toll  on operators in the telecommunications sector with the loss of more than 2 250 jobs in recent days.

While Etisalat sacked 2 000 workers last week, MTN has announced that 252 engineers have been relieved of their jobs.

Explaining its decision to terminate the employment of the workers, Etisalat said their services were no longer needed in the company.

"Etisalat Nigeria would like to state that there have been recent changes within the organization. Due to these changes, the services of some staff were no longer required.

“We would like to reaffirm that, as responsible corporate citizens, we remain committed to growing and developing our people in line with our core values,” the company said in a statement.

On its part, MTN said the affected engineers were left out following a recent managed services contracts it entered with global telecommunications solutions providers, Ericsson and Huawei.

The contract according to the company, would see Ericsson and Huawei managed MTN infrastructures including base stations while MTN focuses on it core business of providing mobile services.

The company said it took the decision to  focus strictly on areas that would directly impact on its operations, while outsourcing ancillary services to independent service providers.

MTN further explained that it was facing the challenge of not only stagnating revenues but also increasing operating expenses.

It however said that some workers had been absorbed by Ericsson and Huawei.

The fate of the other workers is unclear as a source in the company explained that they might have decided to leave outright rather than transfer their services to other companies.

The source also said that 20 unengaged workers may have fallen short of the requirements of Ericsson and Huawei.

MTN Spokesperson, Funmi Onajide, declined to give further details on the issue.