FMCG Companies Record 8.7% Workforce Reduction In 2023 As Inflation, Depreciating Exchange Rate Dig Deeper
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) has revealed that the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies have seen a reduction in employee headcount in 2023 by 8.7% when compared to the previous year.
A review of the full year 2023 financial statement reveals that in 2023 the employee head count reduced by 1,297 from 14,875 to 13,578.
Flour Mills Nigeria Plc recorded a drop in employee headcount shedding 515 staff in 2023 from 5,919 at the end of the 2022 financial year to 5,404 by the end of 2023 which is reduction of 8.70% during the period.
Brewery behemoth, Nigerian Breweries reduced its employees by up to 14.15% in 2023 from 2,685 employees in 2022 to 2305 by the end of 2023.
Other firms which reduced their employee during the period include; Cadbury Plc, in 2022, the company’s total employees stood at 480, this reduced to 459 by the end of 2022 marking a marginal decrease of 4.34% during the period.
Dangote Sugar’s total number of employees in 2023 decreased by 70 staff from 3066 in 2022 to 2956. Guinness Nig Plc- in December 2022, the total employee headcount at Guinness Nig stood at 839. In the same period of 2023, the employee headcount has dropped to 791 indicating a reduction of 48 employees
Unilever Nig Plc reduced its workforce by a whopping 22.3% in 2023 from 786 personnel by the end of 2022 to 610 by December 2023.
PZ Cussons has a marginal decline in employee headcount in this company. In 2022, the total workforce stood at 1040, this reduced to 996 marking an employee reduction of just 46 staff.
The decline in employee headcount in 2023 stems from the impact of macroeconomic shocks experienced across the country in the year.
The job losses in the consumer goods sector are expected to compound the unemployment rate in the country. While the job losses reported among listed companies seem negligible, those of unlisted companies are much worse.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the unemployment rate in the country in Q3, 2023 rose from 4.2% to 5.0%– indicating an increase of 0.8 percentage points.
According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) Nigerian businesses even in 2024 were still reducing their workforce in reaction to current economic realities.
The decline in the workforce for consumer goods companies is expected to significantly impact on the capacity utilisation of the sector. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) reports that capacity utilisation in the sector has declined to 56.5%.