A shakeup is taking place at National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL), reportedly to keep the company financially afloat, reported AllAfrica. Not only will scores of employees be layed off by September but also senior-level managers such as the Chief Operating Officer Dr. Randolph Mcclain, and the entire Board of Directors.

This move came as the result of a “Right Sizing” austerity plan put together by the company’s board, and which includes a stipulation that that the board and senior management be terminated then re-vetted for employment at a much smaller NOCAL.

The financial crisis facing the firm is, in part, the result of excessive spending.

It also emerged that the possible of a bailout, made by some employees, had been turned down, so as not to pose a financial burden to the government.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Counselor Seward Cooper, was quoted by Front Page Africa as saying that despite the best efforts of Board and Management to put in place several austerity measures to manage the situation, the continuing crumbling oil prices have severely undermined NOCAL’s capacity to meet its operational and personnel obligations.

The same was true, he said, of all State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in the country and other productive sectors such as Agriculture and Mining in the face of global economic recession.