The government will support employees who voluntarily leave Fenaka Corporation by helping them establish their own businesses, the company's Managing Director Mohamed Afeef Hussain has said.
The company said 108 employees have applied to leave under a voluntary separation scheme that was opened to staff wishing to resign.
Speaking on a programme on Dhivehi Raajjeyge Adu, Afeef said the scheme was introduced to allow employees who no longer had meaningful work to leave their posts with dignity.
When the scheme was initially opened until 14 June, 97 employees applied to resign. Since then, additional applications have been received, bringing the total to 108 employees currently being processed for departure.
Employees leaving under the scheme will receive redundancy payments equivalent to four months' salary. In addition, the government will assist them in accessing opportunities to establish their own businesses.
"Keeping employees at home without any work is not beneficial for the country. Instead, we want to help them access government loan schemes to start businesses. The Ministry of Finance has informed us that there are loan schemes available which do not require mortgages. We will help these departing employees make use of those schemes so they can pursue dignified livelihoods on their own," Afeef said.
Afeef also noted that Fenaka's current income is insufficient to cover the salaries of its 8,000 employees. He said the government currently contributes between USD 2.59 million and USD 3.24 million each month to support the company's payroll.
He explained that the four months' salary offered to departing employees would be funded from expenditure already approved within the company's budget.
"When people ask where the money comes from, the answer is that our annual budget already includes provisions to pay everyone on our payroll, even if we have to borrow to do so. The funding comes from within that approved budget. For example, from July to December there are six months remaining. If we pay four months' salary now and the employee leaves, the company saves the remaining two months' salary. That is ultimately beneficial for the company," Afeef said.
Fenaka said the workforce reduction forms part of efforts to strengthen the company's operations, improve efficiency, and deliver better services to the public.
The company added that although there is little or no work available in some islands, large numbers of employees remain stationed there, making workforce restructuring necessary.