Foulkes ‘blindsided’ by GIBC Digital layoffs

Foulkes ‘blindsided’ by GIBC Digital layoffs

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Conflicting information gathered by Eyewitness News Online Tuesday suggested that labour minister Dion Foulkes might have been blindsided by sizeable layoffs at a tech company in Grand Bahama.

Foulkes, while addressing media outside of Cabinet on Tuesday morning, insisted that he had no knowledge of layoffs at GIBC Digital in Grand Bahama.

“GIBC Digital has not formally communicated with the ministry or myself; as you know any layoffs from any companies must be communicated with me and we have absolutely no notice of them,” Foulkes said.

But information provided to Eyewitness News Online Tuesday evening suggested that at least half of GIBC Digital’s staff had been released.

The company is less than a year old and was officially opened in June of last year, employing some 30 people.

Sources revealed that the layoffs took place at the end of last year but the matter is just being made public.

The company had announced plans to open a branch in New Providence but has since put those plans on hold.

In a statement from the company’s CEO, Greg Wood, GIBC Digital confirmed that business has been slower than expected and that the company has had to make adjustments but this is no cause for concern.

Wood also confirmed that the company had to part ways with some senior employees who did not share their values. He confirmed that those senior employees have since been replaced with an all-Bahamian leadership team and are now on track to meet their targets for 2019.

He reiterated the company’s commitment to Grand Bahama and the transformation of the island as well as its employees.

About Theo Sealy

Theo Sealy is an award-winning journalist who serves as senior broadcast reporter and weekend TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. He has achieved several career milestones, including his work as a field contributor with CNN, his coverage of four consecutive general elections, his production of several docuseries and his Bahamas Press Club Awards win for “Best Television News Story” in 2018.