It appears that the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed its latest victim.
Today (23 September 2021), electronics giant Panasonic announced that it will be closing its refrigeration compressor manufacturing operations here…
In the process laying off one-third of its total workforce in Singapore.
Panasonic Layoff 700 Employees in S’pore
700 workers have been retrenched following Panasonic’s decision to shut off particular manufacturing operations.
Apparently, the decision was made amid recognition that sales of refrigeration compressor business units have nosedived in recent years.
As a result, a strategic review of the company’s business portfolio had led to the crippling decision.
The affected employees were reportedly informed via four separate 45-minute sessions today. Sessions also took place virtually due to current pandemic-related rules.
Around half of the workers are Singaporeans, with 13% being permanent residents. Around 60% are aged 50 or older, while 30% are between 30 and 50.
For the first batch of retrenched staff, their last working day will be on 31 March 2022.
For the second and last batch, it will be on 30 September.
Coping
To assist the retrenched staff members, Panasonic Appliances Refrigeration Devices Singapore (PAPRDSG) will be working with other affiliated companies to explore re-employment prospects.
The United Workers of Electronics and Electrical Industries will also be collaborating with the National Trade Union Congress’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) and the Economic Development Board (EDB) to assist retrenched staff.
Aspects such as career coaching and employability workshops, for instance, will be provided.
Employees will also be entitled to retrenchment benefits that’re reportedly higher than the norm.
They will get one month’s salary for each year of work done, as compared to the usual rate of between two weeks to one month’s salary for each year’s service.
Meanwhile, Panasonic has maintained that it will continue to prioritise its premises here.
“We will continue to invest in Singapore to support our growth strategies in the high-value supply chain and continue contributing to the communities in the Asia Pacific and beyond.”
Even with the layoffs, the company still has more than 1,400 employees here.
They’re spread across departments such as R&D, sales and marketing and accounting.
Retrenchment
Over the course of the pandemic period, numerous organisations have been forced to cut their losses.
Media giant SPH, for instance, had to retrench 140 people.
Grab had to retrench 360.
In fast-food giant Jollibee’s case, they actually closed 255 stores worldwide.
However, Grab and Jollibee would later bounce back in dramatic fashion, with the latter registering a profit of nearly 1 billion Philippine pesos (S$26 million) for the second quarter of 2021.
Meanwhile, Grab announced that their group revenue (Grab, GrabFood, etc) had already recovered to over 95% of pre-Covid-19 levels by end October 2020.
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