Tigo, Airtel merger: Staff’ll be treated fairly – Tigo GM

When the merger deal between telecommunication networks, Tigo and Airtel is finalised, the conjoined management will apply fairness and transparency in the handling of staff, Roshi Motman, Tigo’s General Manager has said.

Operators of the two companies announced on Friday, 3 March, via their respective subsidiaries that they had decided to enter into a deal to operate as a single entity in Ghana.

Millicom International Cellular S.A. and Bharti Airtel Limited per the agreement will have equal ownership of the resultant firm which will have a customer base of about 10 million – 5.6 million of them being data customers.

The resultant firm will cover more than 80% of Ghana’s population with high-speed data, providing the widest 3G coverage across the country, and would have revenues close to $300m, making it one of the largest communications companies in Ghana.

In a joint statement, Mohamed Dabbour, Executive Vice President, Millicom Africa, said: “In a highly fragmented telecom market, this deal represents a major milestone for our business in Ghana. The combination of Tigo and Airtel will create an operator that will be able to offer Ghanaian consumers and businesses a state-of-the-art network with high speed mobile data coverage. This transaction underlines confidence in the Ghanaian economy, and provides the opportunity to develop nationwide digital infrastructure and services in Ghana.”

There are, however, fears that the merger will see a lot of staff from both companies losing their jobs.

But speaking to Joy News on Wednesday, 8 March, Roshi Motman, who is to lead the new entity as the Chief Executive once the deal is finalised, said: “… We will take care of staff according to labour laws but also in the most fair and transparent manner.”

Source: ClassFMonline.com