Mass purge at CBZHL: 347 jobs wiped out in brutal restructuring

LIVINGSTONE MARUFU

CBZ Holdings Limited (CBZHL), a publicly-traded financial services group, has axed 347 employees in a sweeping restructuring drive that underscores the brutal realities of the country’s economic meltdown.

The job cuts, executed over the past three months, are part of an aggressive cost-cutting strategy as businesses nationwide grapple with a hostile operating environment marked by rising inflation, liquidity squeeze, and declining consumer spending.

In a statement, CBZHL Group CEO Lawrence Nyazema justified the mass retrenchments as necessary to “enhance operational efficiency, strengthen market position, and ensure long-term sustainability.”

“The restructuring exercise, initiated in October 2024, was a response to the turbulent economic landscape,” Nyazema said.

“As of January 31, 2025, we have concluded the process, impacting 347 roles out of a total staff complement of 1,448. We are grateful for the contributions of all affected employees and are committed to supporting them during this transition.”

This bloodbath follows CBZ’s decision to eliminate 13 senior executive positions, further reinforcing the financial sector’s shift towards automation and digitization. With banking services increasingly moving online, institutions are trimming their workforces, making traditional roles redundant.

But CBZ’s layoffs are just the tip of the iceberg. Zimbabwe’s corporate sector is in crisis, with retrenchments sweeping across major industries. Supermarket chains, manufacturers, and service providers are downsizing in a desperate attempt to stay afloat.

Retail giants such as TM Pick n Pay, OK Zimbabwe,N. Richards and Spar are shutting down branches as runaway inflation and dwindling consumer purchasing power cripple sales. Once a pillar of employment, the retail sector is now hemorrhaging jobs at an alarming rate, further deepening Zimbabwe’s unemployment crisis.

Economic analysts point to the disastrous reintroduction of the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency, which has rapidly lost value against major foreign currencies, leaving businesses unable to plan ahead.

Despite frantic efforts by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to stabilize the financial system—backing the currency with gold and raising interest rates—inflation continues to spiral out of control.

With businesses collapsing, banks cutting staff, and inflation devouring incomes, Zimbabwe’s economic outlook has never been more precarious. Employers are in survival mode, slashing costs and dumping workers as the crisis deepens.

For the hundreds left jobless at CBZ—and the thousands more fearing the next wave of retrenchments—the brutal reality is clear, this is just the beginning.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button