‘Economic downturn’ forces FCMB to sack 150

First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has relieved 150 staff of their duties, a top official of the bank said on Monday.

The official, who did not want to be named, told NAN that those affected represented five per cent of the bank’s 3,000 workforce.

He said the bank had also employed some new staff to replace some of those sacked.

The workers were sacked on January 19.

According to the official, the affected workers were found to have under-performed during the bank’s review of activities of its staff.

He said the development was not peculiar to FCMB, adding that some other banks had done same recently.

The official also attributed the sack to the economic downturn of the country due to weak prices of global commodities.

He said it was natural that those found wanting would be eased out due to poor returns.