Zim central bank to lay off 74a % staff

Staff levels at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) grew more than 10-fold between 2003 and 2008 as it spearheaded a drive to pull the economy out of a severe crisis many blamed on President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party.

RBZ governor Gideon Gono told a parliamentary committee the bank would lay off at least 1, 600 employees, but state media said he had requested and had been granted permission to discuss the retrenchment costs in a private session.