News

Everything About Pratt & Whitney Retrenchment That Leads to 400 Jobless People in S’pore

2020-08-04 , 11:58 am

Remember when the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) released the retrenchment and unemployment figures for the second quarter of 2020 and said it will get worse?

Well, they knew what they were talking about because just yesterday, another 400 people in Singapore lost their jobs.

Pratt & Whitney

If you hear the name Pratt & Whitney, you’ll probably go:

But if I tell you what they do, which is to make aeroplane engines for both the civil and military aviation sector, you’ll probably go:

Yeah, everyone and their grandmothers and pet doggos know the aviation sector isn’t exactly doing really well during the Covid-19 pandemic.

I mean, that’s what happens when 99.99999% of the world stops flying not just because they’re kiasi (afraid to die), but are also deterred by the harsh penalties some countries imposed to stop their people from flying.

And unlike the caipng stall downstairs who is cheering at Phase Two, the aviation industry has to wait until 2024 before things go back to business as usual.

Okay, now that you know the context (which is important, you’ll know why later), let’s move on to the main meat of the article.

400 More Jobless People in S’pore

On 3 Aug 2020, it was reported that Pratt & Whitney in Singapore has laid off 20 per cent of its workforce from its 4 companies.

That’s 400 people out of their 2,000-strong workforce in Singapore.

It’s four companies, Turbine Overhaul Services, Pratt & Whitney Component Solutions, P&W NGPF Manufacturing Company Singapore and Component Aerospace Singapore are all unionised under the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees’ Union (SISEU).

The union has been informed, the company said.

Eagles Services Asia

If you find the name Pratt & Whitney familiar, it’s because they previously made the news when their joint venture, Eagle Services Asia, retrenched people and were stopped by NTUC.

Part of the 400 people laid off, Pratt & Whitney says, are people who were already laid off during the Eagle Services Asia saga.

A Joint Statement with Company & Union

Remember I said that the aviation industry outlook is an important thing? Well, you’ll find out why.

The job of a union is to put a stop to unfair hiring and retrenchment exercises. They are also supposed to help negotiate or seek other solutions without much harm coming to their charges.

However, this time, the union’s hands are tied as the aviation industry outlook for the next few years looks dim.

In a joint statement, Pratt & Whitney and SISEU said that they will try to ensure that the retrenchment exercise is carried out carefully and the workers who are retrenched are given fair severance packages.

It was also noted that the aviation industry will only start to recover in 2023 (at the earliest).

Retrenchment was also the last resort measures and Pratt & Whitney has exhausted an entire list of cost-saving attempts, including:

temporary salary reductions
shorter work weeks
cancellation of merit increases
hiring freezes
and discretionary spending cuts

SISEU Efforts

While not every company can be a Grab and give out laptops and provide a life coach, SISEU is working with e2i to try and get the retrenched workers hired again.

This includes getting them to attend job fairs, employability workshops as well as ask for a one-off training grant to let them upgrade their skills.

Affected union members will have their membership extended till the end of 2020 for free so they can enjoy the various benefits like:

Union bursary awards
financial relief under NTUC care
Support programmes
Insurance coverage

Not Just Whitney & Pratt

If you’ve missed out on our previous article about the aviation industry outlook, you might want to check out more details here.

Basically, air travel has plummeted back in Apr 2020 when various countries started closing their borders.

Even now, countries are fighting to contain their second wave of virus outbreaks.

Leisure travel is completely dead and it’s now domestic flights leading the charge although flight capacity still remains far below the profit margin.

This means for every domestic flight rolled out by an airline overseas, they’re actually making a loss.

With such an outlook, airlines are looking to down-size, leading to fewer orders for aeroplane parts (since most of them are grounded anyway), which will force even more manufacturers like Whitney & Pratt to lay off employees.

Rolls-Royce has announced back in Jul 2020 that it will reduce its local workforce here in Singapore by 24%. This equates roughly to about 240 people.

Where To Go For Help If You’re Unemployed

Here’s a useful website you might want to check out if you’re looking for a job.

It contains a list of places where the authorities have set up career satellite centres under the #SGUnited Jobs & Skills Package.

At these places, you’ll find counsellors who can tell you more about what you might want to do next, as well as point you towards the relevant resources that might get you employed again.

As previously mentioned, the government has pledged to create 100,000 jobs, traineeships and skills programmes for Singaporeans.

In fact, traineeships used to be for fresh grads, but because there’s an oversupply of traineeships, they are now opening it to mid-careerists as well, which you can find out more about here.

You can also apply for temporary financial help here which can give you $800 a month for three months; not a lot but, hey, at this stage? Every little bit helps, right?

Hopefully, by then, you’re settling in to your new job.

Don’t get too hung up on a full-time position though because as the numbers have shown, the number of jobs available are going to be lesser than the number of people looking for jobs.

Manpower Minister Josephine Teo has told people to just “make do” first with skills training or traineeships while waiting for the economy to recover.

In short? No fish prawn also good.