The Cameroonian subsidiary of the multinational mobile telecommunications company MTN Group Limited has retrenched 100 of its workers.

An additional 500 workers are expected to be without work soon as the company continues to downsize amid increasingly difficult economic conditions, according to sources within the company.

In a letter individually addressed to the affected staff, Hendrik Kasteel, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Cameroon, expressed regret at having to terminate their contract effective 31 October 2018.

According to Kasteel the decision is part of an internal overhaul, which has also seen the transformation of some jobs.

At the time of publishing Massey Njiti-Bongang, Corporate Communications Manager at MTN Cameroon, had not responded to requests for more detail regarding the overhaul process and job transformation.

The company informed affected workers that in accordance with an MoU signed between employees and management in October 2018 (under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security), should the business recruit again within the next two years, those who were retrenched could reapply.

The company's HR also promised retrenched workers would receive their severance pay, calculated in accordance with the MoU.

Payment of the compensations will be made once a full conciliation report has been signed before the competent labour inspector, and an enforcement clause affixed to the report by the president of the competent court, MTN Cameroon stated.

A source within the company said the business was struggling and is forced to transform certain workstations in order to remain operational.

In a report published in August 2018, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications said MTN had 651 full time staff in 2016, up from 483 in 2006. The same report notes that the company invested some FCFA 39.5 billion in 2016.