Protected Employment – Kenya’s new rules –  and Putting those Layoffs into Perspective

A new bill is being proposed through Kenya’s Senate to block employers from interfering with the work-life balance of their employees via calls, text messages, emails, or assignments past working hours, weekends, and public holidays. The Employment (Amendment) Bill seeks to give Kenyan workers the “the right to disconnect in the digital age” and protect them against employers who subject them to extra work without pay.

Meanwhile, I have been asked a number of times about the major global layoffs by the USA based Big Tech companies. The answer is that companies increased employment during COVID and are now scaling back – but here are some real figures to confirm that: –  18,000 at Amazon , 12,000 at Google, 10,000 at Microsoft, etc. These figures are relatively small in comparison to the number of employees hired by these companies over the course of the pandemic. Amazon, for example, hired 746,000 people during the COVID, increasing its total headcount by around 93.5% from 2019 Q4 to 2022 Q3. Its recently announced layoffs, on the other hand, are expected to bring its total headcount down by 1.2%.

Twitter, however, continues to haemorrhage staff under the new management with no let up in sight.