Digital lender Tala is set to lay off 10 percent of its Kenyan workforce as part of a global
restructuring aimed at streamlining its operations.
The digital lender joins a growing number of technology firms reforming their workforce
structures as they expand the use of artificial intelligence.
In a statement issued on Thursday, June 25, the company said the changes would involve
streamlining functions and centralizing operations, reducing its global workforce.
“As part of the evolution of Tala’s global operating model, we are streamlining our functions
and centralizing operations to align with our strategic roadmap,” the company said in a
statement.
Tala has a workforce of 85 employees in Kenya, with seven positions, or about 8 per cent,
expected to be affected by the restructuring.
However, Tala stated that its operations in the country will continue as usual, while it reaffirmed
its full commitment to serving its customers, despite the layoffs.
The company said the changes are intended to strengthen its ability to embed financial
services into partner ecosystems to expand its reach across evolving markets.
“This strategic transition of centralizing functions will support Tala’s global objective of
embedding our services into partner ecosystems at scale and help us deliver even more
value to our customers and partners in Kenya and beyond,” the company said.
This is not the first time the company has reduced its workforce. In April 2025, 28 employees
in its customer operations team were laid off, citing a reduced workload from customer
support queries due to fewer loan defaults.
The layoffs followed the introduction of a feature that allowed users to choose their own
repayment dates and schedules, reducing customer support inquiries and leaving the customer
operations team overstaffed.
The announcement comes shortly after a recent round of layoffs by Samasource, a Nairobi-
based AI data annotation firm that laid off 1,108 employees after losing a contract with
Meta Platforms.
The growing adoption of artificial intelligence led major technology companies,
including Google, Meta, and Microsoft, to reduce their workforces in Kenya over the past two
years.
– By Daniel Kamau
