LAYOFFS HIT RECORD HIGH IN GHANA

Ghana over the years has had problems with securing jobs for it teaming population in both public and private sector. The private sector employs the greater percentage of people than the public sector.The already employed ones are struggling with job sustainability.Most of these workers take salaries below the minimum wage bill.

 In the last few years Ghana has suffered consistent huge number of job loses.These layoffs many describe as worrying. Layoffs is not new with Ghana.In 2016 when the country was plunged into worse power crisis many businesses collapsed leading to massive layoffs.

 A quick glance of job losses within the last few years indicate more than 3000 people in the mining sector have lost their jobs, in the media it is 650 including recently the rebranded  TV Africa, 1,700 people also lost their jobs in the banking sector whiles in the education sector some 200 people are believed to have lost their jobs.The job losses in the financial sector alone over the past 3years is staggering if one should add those of the micro-finance and savings and loans companies that went burst for various reasons.

Some 12,550 jobs are reported to have been lost in the formal sector between 2016 and 2018.How that place on the national figure in ratio of unemployment would be hard to tell in a country where the release of statistics could delay by at least 2 years. Though not a direct response  to these losses,the government of the day will argue jobs equally created out way job losses.
This year government led by HE. Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo- Addo plans to create 100,000 jobs through the Nation Builders Corp but whether this is sufficient to bridge the unemployment deficit.


  Below is some reported layoffs from 2015 to 2018;

* In 2015, 200 workers lost their jobs from Goldfield Ghana.

* In 2016, 178 workers were sacked from GTP.

* In 2016, Fidelity laid off 190 workers.

* 500 workers lost their jobs in 2016 from Diamond Cement.

* Ghana Commercial Bank in 2016 laid off 200 workers.

* EIB Network to lay off 100 staff, 2018.

* Over 400 workers to go home jobless as Steel Company closes down in Tema, 2018.

* Close to 100 workers sacked from Tv3 in 2017.

* GN Media sacked 30 staff already and more to follow in coming weeks.

Judging from the statistics, we need to take a critical look at what is the cause of these layoffs and it remedies.