Ericsson Bangladesh lays off 50 employees

In its latest move to cut jobs, Ericsson Bangladesh Ltd has terminated at least 50 employees reportedly without any prior notice. The company management served the termination letters to the 50 employees through email on Monday, sources said. Outraged by the sudden lay off, the employees staged a demonstration in front of the company's head office in Gulshan, Dhaka. Witnesses said they later laid siege to the office of the company's top officials, demanding immediate reinstatement. They urged the company authorities to introduce a voluntary separation scheme so they could get an option to find another job before leaving the one in Ericsson. Lutfor Rahman, general secretary of Ericsson Employees' Union, an organisation of the protesting employees, said no organisation could lay off its employees without offering any severance package. According to the company sources, the company terminated 250 permanent and temporary staff members in the last one year following a downward trend in its profits.