Calls for Urgent Dialogue as Sony Sugar Faces Mass Layoffs in Migori

Key Highlights

• Sony Sugar workers face redundancy from October 31, 2025, following an August circular.
• Company’s new management—Busia Sugar Industries Ltd—plans layoffs despite workers’ decades of service.
• Stakeholders call for dialogue among national government, Migori County, and investors.
• Concerns raised over workers’ welfare, pending payments, and lack of reintegration programs.
• Layoffs expected to trigger social and economic impacts, including mental health issues and rising crime.
• Business leaders and farmers urge management to reassess redundancy plans and show empathy.
• Residents recall sacrifices made by locals in establishing Sony Sugar in 1979.

Redundancy Sparks Alarm in Migori

Anxiety is mounting in Migori County as South Nyanza Sugar Company Limited (Sony Sugar) prepares for massive layoffs set to take effect on October 31, 2025.

The sugar mill, now under the ownership of Busia Sugar Industries Limited, issued a redundancy notice in August, informing employees of impending job losses. The circular, signed by Managing Director Marine Dima, indicated that staff would be compensated under Section 40 of the Employment Act and existing collective bargaining agreements (CBAs).

However, local farmers, business leaders, and community members are urging urgent dialogue to avert what they warn could become a social and economic crisis in Awendo and the wider Migori region.

Stakeholders Demand Empathy and Transparency

Sugarcane farmer and businesswoman Drisca Oluoch urged the management to approach the layoffs with empathy and to ensure pending payments to workers, farmers, and business partners are cleared without delay.

“Change is part of life, especially under new management, but it should not victimize employees who have tirelessly worked to make the factory what it is today,” Oluoch said.

She warned that abrupt job losses without proper reintegration programs could fuel mental health challenges such as depression, hypertension, and stress-related illnesses.

A Community’s Sacrifice at Risk

Businessman and sugar farmer John Otieno appealed to the company to reconsider the redundancy plan and retain as many employees as possible. He noted that when Sony Sugar was founded in 1979, residents of Awendo Sub-County gave up ancestral land to establish the company’s nucleus estate.

“For such people, being laid off will not only cause economic and psychological pain but also make it seem like the sacrifices of their forefathers were all in vain,” Otieno said.

He added that most of the affected employees are family breadwinners, and widespread dismissals could worsen poverty, increase crime, and destabilize the community.

Dialogue Seen as Only Way Forward

Stakeholders are now pressing the national government, Migori County leadership, and the new investor to urgently hold talks aimed at safeguarding workers’ rights and cushioning families from the fallout.

While reforms and cost-cutting remain necessary for Sony Sugar’s revival, leaders warn that ignoring the human and social cost of redundancy could undo decades of progress and undermine trust in the industry.