Essential Drugs to lay off over 1,000 ‘unskilled’ employees
Mridha revealed that the previous EDCL administration had hired extra employees according to its whims
Essential Drugs Company Limited (EDCL) has announced that it will lay off over 1,000 "unskilled" employees.
A Samad Mridha, managing director of the company, made the announcement at a press conference at the EDCL office today (13 August).
He stated that EDCL had over 2,000 surplus employees relative to its production capacity.
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"All of them are unskilled workers, and many were found to have fake certificates. They did not do any work," he added.
The EDCL managing director further said that 722 of these unskilled employees have already been laid off, and another 1,000 will need to be dismissed for the company's benefit.
He clarified that those who were laid off had a history of misconduct.
Mridha revealed that the previous EDCL administration had hired extra employees according to its whims.
"We had a room named 'Rohingya Room' where employees were just made to sit and receive salaries without performing any work. But we cannot continue this. To save the company, we cannot retain these employees, and the layoffs will be carried out gradually."
He further said that EDCL has now made the process of procuring raw materials for medicines transparently, ensuring that high-quality materials are bought at fair prices.
Mridha claimed that by reducing the number of unskilled and unnecessary employees, the company has increased its production capacity, lowered production costs, and has already reduced the prices of 33 medicines by up to 50%.
"I hope that if these guidelines remain in place, we can reduce the prices of most medicines within six months," he added.
