The Finance Ministry has instructed the Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) to reduce the workforce of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) by 33 percent, following years of successive governments creating thousands of political jobs to secure election victories.
The Finance Ministry stated that this decision is part of a broader effort to strengthen the governance and management of SOEs by implementing necessary measures within the framework of relevant laws and regulations.
The directive emphasized that enhancing operational efficiency and human resource management is currently a critical necessity. As part of the initiative to ensure financial sustainability, companies have been ordered to downsize their staff to reduce overheads and tighten expenditure controls.
Furthermore, the Ministry instructed SOEs to reform their recruitment processes by strengthening merit-based policies to ensure that appointments are based strictly on educational qualifications, skills, and competence.
Thousands of jobs were created through state companies leading up to the recent local council elections and referendum. In some instances, the application windows for these positions were open for less than 24 hours.
Opposition figures had previously warned during the election period that those appointed to such positions would eventually face dismissal.
