{"id":160561,"date":"2026-04-18T15:26:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T15:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/meta-pullout-leads-to-1108-job-cuts-at-sama-nairobi"},"modified":"2026-04-18T16:16:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T16:16:59","slug":"meta-pullout-leads-to-1108-job-cuts-at-sama-nairobi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/meta-pullout-leads-to-1108-job-cuts-at-sama-nairobi","title":{"rendered":"Meta Pullout Leads to 1,108 Job Cuts at Sama Nairobi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. <\/strong> <\/span>More than 1,100 workers at Sama\u2019s Nairobi office face redundancy after tech giant Meta Platforms, Inc. moved to terminate a major outsourcing contract.<\/p>\n

The move has dealt a heavy blow to one of Kenya\u2019s most prominent business process outsourcing employers.<\/p>\n

In a formal communication to staff, Sama confirmed it had received notice from Meta one of its biggest clients ending a key engagement at its Nairobi delivery centre.<\/p>\n

As a result, the company issued a formal notice of intended redundancy on April 16, 2026, in line with Section 40 of Kenya\u2019s Employment Act, 2007.<\/p>\n

Sama Country Lead and Vice President for Global Delivery, Annepeace Alwala, acknowledged the severity of the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs is standard in our industry, client programs evolve, and we work closely with our partners to manage these transitions responsibly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The company said 1,108 employees will be affected, many of them attached directly to the now-terminated workstream.<\/p>\n

The move is expected to send shockwaves through Kenya\u2019s outsourcing and tech support sector, where Sama has long positioned itself as a major employer and gateway into the global AI economy.<\/p>\n

She added that the company\u2019s immediate focus is to support affected staff and maintain operations elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recognise the significant impact on the team and the local community. We are actively working to support affected employees with care and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sama said workers have received living wages, full benefits, wellness services, medical cover, and access to on-site counselling.<\/p>\n

The Nairobi facility has been central to Sama\u2019s global AI data-labeling business, providing annotation and model evaluation services used to train machine learning systems for leading international technology firms.<\/p>\n

But the abrupt loss of the Meta contract now raises serious questions about the future of hundreds of Kenyan workers whose livelihoods depended on the partnership.<\/p>\n

For Kenya\u2019s growing AI outsourcing sector, the layoffs mark one of the largest redundancy announcements in recent years.<\/p>\n

The move comes just two months after Kenya\u2019s four largest business process outsourcing (BPO) and digital services operators formed a lobby to accelerate job creation and positioning the country as a leading outsourced business services hub.<\/p>\n

CCI Kenya, CloudFactory Kenya, Teleperformance Kenya and Sama Kenya launched the Outsourcing Alliance of Kenya (OAK) in late February, a private-sector coalition to advocate for policy reforms, attract global investment and align skills development with international demand.<\/p>\n

Find more news and analyses on Kenya<\/span> on the Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. More than 1,100 workers at Sama\u2019s Nairobi office face redundancy after tech giant Meta Platforms, Inc. moved to terminate a major outsourcing contract. The move has dealt a heavy blow to one of Kenya\u2019s most prominent business process outsourcing employers. In a formal communication to staff, Sama confirmed it had received notice […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":160559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[544],"class_list":["post-160561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-kenya"],"yoast_head":"\nMeta Pullout Leads to 1,108 Job Cuts at Sama Nairobi - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag"> Africa-Press - Kenya. 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