Job cuts as SGR takes over work

A transport logistics company has become the first major casualty of the Standard Gauge Railway line after announcing jobs cuts.

Bollore Logistics, a French firm, has written to its employees and owners of trucks it had leased, communicating the pain the new railway had caused, a development playing out in the wider cargo transport industry. The workers, including lorry drivers, their assistants and back-office staff, were told in an internal memo that SGR had significantly reduced business, leading to lower profit projections.

As a result, the company has been forced to restructure its operations, starting with declaration of redundancies. It did not indicate the number of employees that would be affected. “We shall consequently embark on restructuring the company into a leaner, more focused and customer-centric organisation by combining teams, reducing layers and stopping non-core or non-profitable activities,” read the memo. Staff rationalisation was to start immediately after the August 20 communication, according to Bollore Logistics Managing Director for Kenya Jean-Pascal Naud. He promised to make the retrenchment exercise as “thoughtful” as possible.

Insiders said contracts with truck-owners had also been terminated owing to loss of business. Bollore’s retrenchment is a major blow to road transport, confirming earlier concerns that the SGR would lead to business and job losses.

Double-stacking of containers and the imminent transportation of imported vehicles via the railway is expected to exacerbate the problems facing truckers. Already, about 1,000 twenty-foot containers are hauled on the SGR everyday, but the numbers could rise, drying the opportunities for trucking. The Government had earlier allayed such fears, with top officials saying hauling cargo by rail had immense benefits to the economy, including higher speeds and enhanced safety. Maintenance costs for the Nairobi-Mombasa highway is also expected to fall, according to former Transport PS Paul Maringa.

[BUSINESS] Transport firm resorts to job cuts as SGR takes over work: A transport logistics company has become the first major casualty of the Standard Gauge Railway line after announcing jobs cuts. https://t.co/bEuu6BOR4c

— Breaking News (@News_Kenya) October 3, 2018

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