Companies Retrench 800 Workers in 2013 First QuarterWASHINGTON DC — The Zimbabwe Retrenchment Board says at least 863 workers were retrenched in the first four months of the year, a 15 percent increase from last year’s figure of 746. In a statement, the Board said these figures are based on reported cases. It said centralisation of manufacturing processes, failure to recapitalize and competition from imports might be contributing to companies cutting back on labour. ZCTU secretary general Japhet Moyo said the government of national unity has not fully tackled problems facing various sectors of the economy, including the manufacturing sector which used to sustain thousands of jobs before Zimbabwe was gripped by a financial crisis between 2000 and 2008. “We thought that the Zimbabwe unity government was going to help in creating a conducive environment for creating jobs in the country but all this appears to have failed during the past four years,” said Moyo. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions says more than 5,000 people are losing their jobs annually.