Capital and Credit Financial Group Limited has sliced 20 members of staff from its payroll, including two vice-presidents, saying the global financial crisis has forced the company into cost-cutting mode.

CCFG chairman and president Ryland Campbell says the job cuts began January 1.

Eliminating four positions

The elimination of four of those positions - vice-president of operations Ann Hutchinson, assistant vice-president of treasury and investment Ingrid MacKay, foreign exchange trader Dave Lawkins, and investment and portfolio management officer and Inshan Singh - were announced in a Jamaica Stock Exchange market filing.

"The prospects of the economy for 2009 will not live up to what we would have want to see," Campbell told Wednesday Business.

"In fact, 2008, which was a year of hope, did not materialise largely because there have been a worldwide calamity and trauma in the financial world."

Campbell said while there are no immediate plans for any further cuts, and that the remaining staff would be required to take up the slack left by those who lost their jobs.

"We are not the only ones in the financial sector who have done it," he said. "Some have done it quietly from as last year August. We were not anxious to move from that early, but we were hoping that things would improve."

The company, alongside the job cuts, is also tightening its operations to become lean and efficient.

"What we have done is realigned some of the processes and merged some functions. No department has been eliminated, but functions have been merged. People will have to do a little bit more."

Campbell said two of the 20 people were sent on early retirement.

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com