Due to an ever increasing cost of production which resulted into high and unsustainable operating costs, Castel Malawi will be laying off 300 employees, as revealed in a memo by the beverage giant’s Director of Human Resources.

According to the memo, a four-phased retrenchment plan will be implemented for one year, to last till June 2020. The memo reads; “The criterion for the retrenchment will be as follows; staff whose performance is/has been poor, staff with disciplinary issues, staff close to retirement, staff who were identified as surplus in their respective departments and staff whose positions will be declared redundant.” The memo also outlines that the retrenchment plan is adherent to labor laws such as severance allowance and one month pay in lieu of notice, among many more.

The retrenchment follows the announcement of the shutdown of the Castel Mzuzu production plant, where employees will be transferred to either Lilongwe or Blantyre plants.