The manner in which employees affected by the latest retrenchment at Mediamax Networks Ltd, owned principally by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s family, were notified has left corporate Kenya and the media industry in shock.
Workers unlucky enough to be on the Mediamax to-go list were notified of their fates through an SMS on Sunday night by various human resources managers, ruining the weekend for the men and women who have been playing a part in running this company.
In one message, human resources manager Maureen Wandera was the bearer of the bad news. “I am contacting you with regards to the redundancy notice issued on 21st of May 2020,” Ms Wandera writes in one of the texts reviewed by Business Today.
“The notice period has expired. Unfortunately your position has been affected by way of redundancy. I would like to invite you to Emory Hotel in Kileleshwa tomorrow, Monday 22nd at 8:55am to discuss what this means to your employment. When you get to the hotel kindly ask for me. We thank you for your indulgence and cooperation in this matter.”
Another message was sent by a HR manager who identified himself as Robert. It must have been a long night for the victims of the layoff as the clock ticked to Monday 8am, when the management begins to engage them over the sacking.
In what is being described in media circles as “a night of massacre”, Mediamax has pushed out over 100 employees in its second round of restructuring in less than a year. In the October 2019 lay-off, the company sacked 160 employees.
