Three jobs affected by changes at Swabou

FNB Namibia has announced that 14 of the 17 staff members who were to be axed as a result of restructuring at Swabou Insurance have been redeployed within the FNB Group of companies.

Following OUTsurance’s acquisition of a 49 per cent stake in Swabou Insurance, the company announced that 17 jobs would be declared redundant. However, FNB Holdings announced yesterday that only three staff members, who have “applied for voluntary redundancy packages”, will be laid off.”We are all happy that we could limit the redundancies and that we managed to find alternative opportunities in the broader FNB family,” Group CEO Vekuii Rukoro said in a statement.The OUTsurance acquisition of a stake in Swabou Life could be seen as a rescue bid from another family member, as both FNB and OUTsurance are part of FirstRand South Africa.FNB and Swabou merged in July 2003, resulting in the establishment of FNB Holdings Limited.At the time the rescue bid was announced, FNB said Swabou’s insurance profits had been declining, as the company was failing to survive the “intense competitive environment and difficult conditions under which the short-term industry traded”.However, FNB Holdings announced yesterday that only three staff members, who have “applied for voluntary redundancy packages”, will be laid off.”We are all happy that we could limit the redundancies and that we managed to find alternative opportunities in the broader FNB family,” Group CEO Vekuii Rukoro said in a statement.The OUTsurance acquisition of a stake in Swabou Life could be seen as a rescue bid from another family member, as both FNB and OUTsurance are part of FirstRand South Africa.FNB and Swabou merged in July 2003, resulting in the establishment of FNB Holdings Limited.At the time the rescue bid was announced, FNB said Swabou’s insurance profits had been declining, as the company was failing to survive the “intense competitive environment and difficult conditions under which the short-term industry traded”.