The government has decided to close down an additional 1,000 utility stores across the country during the current month.
The decision was revealed during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Privatisation, chaired by Farooq Sattar. Officials from the Utility Stores Corporation informed the committee that so far, 2,237 employees have been terminated as part of the downsizing process.
In addition, 2,860 daily-wage workers of the utility stores have also been laid off.
The General Manager of Utility Stores stated that more than Rs. 38 billion in subsidies were provided during the last fiscal year. However, the Rs. 60 billion subsidy allocated for the current fiscal year has not yet been released.
It is worth noting that the federal government had previously shut down hundreds of utility stores across the country as part of its cost-cutting measures.
