Radisson Blu slashes its Kenyan workforce by 30%

Interestingly, only about 210 workers were allowed to return to work, as against the 300 headcount the company operated with prior to the temporary shutdown.

Explaining the reason behind the 30% reduction in workforce, General Manager Russel Storey said demand for the hotel's services are not yet expected to be quite as high as pre-pandemic times.

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“We had around 300 staff before we closed two years ago and we have deployed just over 210 as we resume operations today. We don’t see the demand as high as when the hotel closed and we are just being a little bit cautious. I had to bring in just a few people that knew the business,” he told Business Daily.

The global hotel chain closed down its Kenyan operation at a time when a survey by the Central Bank of Kenya showed a dwindling hotel room occupancy rate across the East African nation.

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Business Insider Africa understands that Radisson Blu's branch in Kenya generates most of its income by renting out venues for conferences and parties. Little wonder the company chose to temporarily discontinue operating at full capacity in the middle of the pandemic.

Recall that Kenya, like most African countries, had shut down its land and sea borders between 2020 through 2021. The restrictive travel measure, which was aimed at curtailing the spread of virus, had inevitably affected Kenya's tourism sector. In turn, hotel brands like Radisson Blu lost millions of dollars worth of revenue.

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Recent findings by Business Insider Africa show that the East African country was absent from the list of 7 African countries that recorded the highest number of international tourist arrivals as of 2021. And this is bad news because tourism plays an integral role in the hotel industry.

But recovery is currently underway. And it is expected that by the time Radisson Blu bounces back to full operational capacity, it will probably rehire some of its redundant stuff.