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Ericsson Sacks 160 Nigerian Workers, Employs Indians

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ericsson-nigeria

By Dipo Olowookere

Not less than 160 Nigerians working with Ericson Nigeria have been disengaged by the company. Out of the number, 55 of them are full-time workers, while the rest are on contract jobs.

According to Punch, the sack will take effect from Sunday, December 4, 2016.

A copy of the disengagement letter to the permanent workers signed by the Managing Director of the company, Mr Johan Jemdahi, reads, “Please be informed that effective December 4, 2016, your position has been declared redundant.

“We thank you for all your past services to Ericsson. Further information about the redundancy benefits will be communicated to you before the actual termination date.”

It was gathered that the outsourced workers were employed through Network Operating Centre.

Punch, relying on information from sources in the company, reports that some workers were laid off in July when the offshoring (the practice of a company in one country arranging for people in another country to do work for it) of jobs to India began.

It said findings show that foreign workers had been recruited to replace the disengaged workers, and knowledge transfer by Nigerian engineers to the new workers was ongoing in the company’s office in India.

The knowledge transfer had been going on since last year when some Indians were brought into the country to study the management of telecommunications infrastructure in the country.

It further said in the last two and half years, Ericsson Nigeria had managed the MTN network majorly from its pool of local workers, some of who were former MTN employees, as well as other contracted workers.

One of the affected workers said that the company was offering the jobs, which involved the monitoring of MTN masts and networks in the country, to Indians at reduced costs.

The workers expressed fears that this would be a continuous trend in the telecommunications industry if it was not addressed by the government.

The employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “The company said it was cheaper for the work to be done in India than in Nigeria. The monitoring of those masts can be done from anywhere. We monitor Abuja, Enugu, Asaba, and Port Harcourt sites from the Lagos office. What they are now proposing is that instead of monitoring from Lagos, they want to monitor from India.

“They have taken the Airtel NOC office to India. They brought about 30 Indians to Nigeria last year to come and understudy the MTN network and after a month, they went back and started monitoring from there. There are no plans to pay compensation to the outsourced workers in the company.”

The Public Relations Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa, Ericsson, Toju Egbebi, who confirmed the development to the newspaper, said the move was part of the company’s global cost and efficiency programme to achieve a net annual cost savings of Swedish Krona 9bn, adding that the programme would continue till 2017.

According to her, the redundancy is being carried out across 180 countries where the company operates.

She explained that on July 19, the company announced actions to further save costs as well as intensify reductions in cost of sales activities and adapt its operations to a weaker mobile broadband market.

Egbebi added, “This means employees will be affected. The decision to offshore our service is in keeping with our global delivery strategy; certain work may be centralised into global delivery centres. This is to enable improved network availability and quality for consumers, and cost efficient network operations for operators.”

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via [email protected]

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NMDPRA Denies Fake Employment Alert, Warns Unsuspecting Job Seekers

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By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has clarified that the viral report suggesting that it is currently employing new staff is the “handiwork of fake recruitment syndicates established to mastermind fraudulent activities.”

In a Monday statement posted on its official X handle, NMDPRA expressed that it was compelled to publish the disclaimer to alert the public against such activities due to what it described as “exploiting young economically vulnerable and unsuspecting Nigerians perhaps into parting with huge sums of money for purported employment opportunities into the authority.”

“They do this by issuing bogus “Letters of Employment” and empty promises, as well as offering non-existent positions. These may well be the handiwork of fake recruitment syndicates established to mastermind these fraudulent activities.

“We wish to use this opportunity to state categorically that the NMDPRA is NOT conducting any recruitment exercise currently. Neither is the Agency undertaking any kind of employment in its services at any level. For the avoidance of doubt, any future recruitment exercise would be undertaken in accordance with extant rules guiding such exercises in the Nigerian Public Service,” the organisation emphasised.

The agency further advised the public to disregard these fake employment advertisements and urged them to visit its official website and social media pages to verify any recruitment claims.

The statement added, “In this regard therefore, we would like to advise the public and all Nigerians to ignore these spurious claims by unscrupulous people whose only objective is to defraud Nigerians and cast aspersion on the authority.

“We further advise that for current and up to date information regarding all our activities, kindly refer to our official corporate website: www.nmdpra.gov.ng as well as all our verified online social media outlets (i.e. Facebook, Linkedln and Instagram) for authentic information.”

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Aradel Appoints Nnoli Akpedeye as Independent Non-Executive Director

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Nnoli Akpedeye

By Adedapo Adesanya

Aradel Holdings Plc has appointed Ms Nnoli Akpedeye as an Independent Non-Executive Director, effective February 2, 2026, following a resolution passed at the company’s board meeting held on January 28, 2026.

In a notice to shareholders, Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, and the investing public, the company disclosed that the appointment is subject to ratification by shareholders at its next Annual General Meeting (AGM). The board also authorised the Company Secretary, Mrs Titiola Omisore, to notify relevant regulators and take all necessary steps to give effect to the decision.

Ms Akpedeye brings more than 36 years of multi-disciplinary experience spanning oil and gas, engineering, legal and arbitration services, and management consulting. Her career reflects a strong blend of technical expertise and strategic leadership, with competencies in management and strategy, business process engineering, organisational development and change management, as well as entrepreneurship development.

Until 2014, she served as Technical Planning Manager for Shell Exploration and Production Companies in Nigeria, where she led the execution of high-impact, mission-critical projects. Over the course of her career at Shell, she held roles across civil engineering design, planning and construction, project management, facility management, technical audit, and business planning and strategy, gaining extensive local and international exposure.

Beyond her corporate career, Ms Akpedeye is an entrepreneur and advocate for capacity building in engineering and energy. She runs Contego Servo Limited and Perfectus Laundi Limited, and in 2013, she launched the “Introduce a Girl to Engineering” programme aimed at encouraging secondary school girls in Nigeria to pursue careers in engineering and related STEM fields.

She is a Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN)-registered engineer, a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE), and a past President of the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN). She is also a founding member of the Women in Energy Network (WIEN) and serves as a passionate ambassador for science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.

In addition, Ms Akpedeye is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Compos Mentis Legal Practitioners and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Compos Mentis Foundation.

Her appointment further strengthens Aradel Holdings’ board with deep industry knowledge, governance experience, and a strong track record in leadership and institutional development, as the company continues to pursue its strategic objectives within Nigeria’s energy landscape.

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Geregu Power Chooses Sean Manley as Interim CEO

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Geregu Power

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

An interim chief executive has been appointed by Geregu Power Plc and he is Mr Sean Manley, with his appointment to take effect from Monday, February 2, 2026.

A statement from the power generating firm disclosed that his appointment is subject to the approval of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the shareholders of the company at the next general meeting.

In the notice, the organisation expressed confidence that the appointee would use his wealth of experience and leadership to “add significant value to the company.”

Mr Manley is said to be “a seasoned power-sector professional with a proven track record in delivering complex energy projects in developing markets.”

He is armed with more than 30 years’ experience spanning sales, business development, project implementation, supply-chain management, and OEM-led delivery within the power sector.

Over the course of his career with Siemens, Mr Manley has developed deep technical and operational expertise in thermal power generation, covering plant construction, commissioning, major overhauls, and long-term operational support.

He is widely regarded as a practical problem-solver, with a demonstrated ability to close projects in challenging operating environments and brings extensive international experience and strong intercultural skills acquired across multi-jurisdictional engagements.

His areas of expertise include the delivery of large, complex infrastructure projects, management of multi-million-dollar business units, client and stakeholder relationship management, business and market development, as well as logistics and procurement analysis critical to successful project execution.

The appointment of Mr Manley comes after Mr Femi Otedola divested his stake in the energy firm last month to support the recapitalisation of First Bank of Nigeria, a subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, which he chairs.

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