Layoffs part and parcel of any business, but not all firms let workers go with dignity
While the retrenchment numbers in recent years remain relatively low, there have been several high-profile retrenchment exercises which made the headlines (Illustration: TODAY/Raymond Limantara)
The number of workers retrenched in Singapore peaked at 23,430 in 2009, when the global financial crisis hit. The figure dipped under 10,000 for each of the two succeeding years (2010 and 2011).
Between 2013 and last year, the figure ranged from a low of 10,730 last year to a high of 19,170 in 2016. Latest statistics from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) showed a total of 5,550 workers laid off in the first half of this year.
While the retrenchment numbers in recent years remain relatively low, there have been several high-profile retrenchment exercises which made the headlines.
related:
S'pore Press Holdings to cut 5% of media jobs as part of restructuring exercise
DFS to close its tobacco and liquor stores at Changi Airport
StarHub to axe 300 employees, restructure company amid 'intense' competition
HSBC planning to cut up to 10,000 jobs in drive to slash costs
PC maker HP to cut up to 9,000 jobs in restructuring push
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SPH to lay off 5% of media group staff as FY2019 net profit fell 23.4%
The group posted a 2.4 per cent drop in overall revenue to $959.3 million
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) on Thursday (17 October) announced that it will lay off five per cent of its staff in the core media group as the conglomerate reported lower net profit and revenue for its 2019 financial year.
In a press release, SPH said the rationalisation exercise is expected to be completed in the current quarter and incur retrenchment costs of about $8 million.
Net profit for the period ended 31 August 2019 fell 23.4 per cent to $213.2 million due mainly to the absence of a one-off gain on divestment of the treasury and investment portfolio.
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SPH net profit falls 23% in FY19, to axe 5% of media staff
SINGAPORE Press Holdings (SPH) will cut 5 per cent of staff from its media group, it said on Thursday, as the company posted a 23.4 per cent decline in net profit for the full year ended Aug 31.
Full-year net profit fell to S$213 million from the same period a year earlier, largely due to the previous divestment of the treasury and investment portfolio into defensive, cash-yielding sectors.
Operating profit fell 12.2 per cent to S$187 million as operating revenue dipped 2.4 per cent to S$959 million.
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SPH net profit falls 23% in Financial Year 2019, to let go of 5% of media group staff
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) will let go of 5 per cent of staff from its media group, it said on Thursday (Oct 17), as the company posted a 23.4 per cent decline in net profit for the full year ended Aug 31.
Full-year net profit fell to $213 million from the same period a year earlier, largely due to the previous divestment of the treasury and investment portfolio into defensive, cash-yielding sectors.
Operating profit fell 12.2 per cent to $187 million as operating revenue dipped 2.4 per cent to $959 million.
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Singapore Press Holdings to cut 5% of media jobs as part of restructuring exercise
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), which on Thursday (Oct 17) posted a 23 per cent fall in full-year net profit, announced it will cut 5 per cent of jobs in its media division as it seeks to restructure and streamline its operations.
The retrenchment exercise is expected to be completed by the end of November and cost the company S$8 million.
In response to queries from CNA, SPH said that about 130 employees will be affected as a result of the restructuring, of which about 70 will be laid off.
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Robots to cut 200,000 US bank jobs in next decade, study says
Back office, bank branch, call center and corporate employees in the US are being cut by about a fifth to a third, according to a study by Wells Fargo & Co.PHOTO: REUTERS
Technological efficiencies will result in the biggest reduction in headcount across the US banking industry in its history, with an estimated 200,000 job cuts over the next decade, Wells Fargo & Co said in a report.
The US$150 billion annually that the country's finance firms are spending on tech - more than any other industry - will lead to lower costs, with employee compensation accounting for half of all bank expenses, said Mike Mayo, a senior analyst at Wells Fargo Securities. Back office, bank branch, call center and corporate employees are being cut by about a fifth to a third, with jobs related to tech, sales, advising and consulting less affected, according to the study.
"It will be a dramatic change in contact centers, and these are both internal and external," Michael Tang, a Deloitte partner who leads the consulting firm's global financial-services innovation practice, said in an interview in the Wells Fargo report. "We're already seeing signs of it with chatbots, and some people don't even know that they're chatting with an AI engine because they're just answering questions."
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HSBC to cut up to 10,000 jobs in cost-cutting drive: FT
HSBC has embarked on a cost-cutting drive that threatens up to 10,000 jobs, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing two people briefed on the matter.
The company is asking why it has so many people in Europe when it has double-digit returns in parts of Asia, one of the people said.
Any job cuts implemented as part of latest plan would come on top of 4,700 redundancies HSBC recently announced, and the cuts will focus on high-paid roles.
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HSBC to cut up to 10,000 jobs in drive to slash costs: FT
HSBC Holdings is planning to cut up to 10,000 jobs as interim Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn seeks to reduce costs across the banking group, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
The plan represents the lender's most ambitious attempt in years to cut costs, the newspaper said, citing two people briefed on the matter. It said the cuts will focus mainly on high-paid roles.
HSBC could announce the beginning of the latest cost-cutting drive and job cuts when it reports third-quarter results later this month, the FT said, citing one person briefed on the matter.
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HSBC to Cut Up to 10,000 Jobs to Slash Costs, FT Reports
HSBC Holdings Plc may eliminate as many as 10,000 jobs as part of a cost-cutting drive, according to a Financial Times report that signaled Europe may bear the brunt of the initiative.
The plan would result in a substantial reduction in HSBC’s workforce of about 238,000, the FT said, citing two people briefed on the matter. The bank, one of several European lenders eliminating roles, is questioning why it has so many people in the region when it has double-digit returns in parts of Asia, one of the people told the newspaper.
The job cuts -- on top of 4,700 redundancies flagged earlier -- could be unveiled when HSBC reports its third-quarter results later this month, according to the FT. The previous round was announced in August, when Chief Executive Officer John Flint abruptly departed after 18 months leading the bank. Interim CEO Noel Quinn started working on the new plan days after he was appointed, and has been told he is a leading internal candidate for the permanent role, the FT reported.
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PC maker HP to cut up to 9,000 jobs in restructuring push
US personal computer maker HP said on Thursday (Oct 3) it will cut up to 16 per cent of its workforce as part of a restructuring plan aimed at cutting costs.
The company will cut about 7,000 to 9,000 jobs through a combination of employee exits and voluntary early retirement, it said in a statement.
HP estimates the plan will result in annual gross run-rate savings of about US$1 billion by the end of fiscal 2022, it added.
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HP To Axe Up To 9,000 Jobs Worldwide, Restructuring Expected To Save US$1B By Fiscal 2022
Tech giant HP just revealed that it has plans to cut 7,000 to 9,000 positions through firings and voluntary early retirement as a part of a 2020 restructuring plan.
This figure works out to about 16% of its current workforce, which is estimated to be 55,000. The plan was announced at HP’s 2019 Securities Analyst Meeting in Palo Alto, California.
Said Enrique Lores, incoming president and chief executive officer, HP Inc: “We are taking bold and decisive actions as we embark on our next chapter. We see significant opportunities to create shareholder value and we will accomplish this by advancing our leadership, disrupting industries and aggressively transforming the way we work.”
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HP to Cut as Much as 16% of Workforce Amid Print Unit Woes
HP Inc. will slash as much as 16% of its workforce as part of a broad restructuring meant to cut costs and boost sales growth amid the company’s first change in top leadership in four years.
The personal computer giant said it will cut 7,000 to 9,000 positions through firings and voluntary early retirement. The job reductions will help save about $1 billion by the end of fiscal 2022, the Palo Alto, California-based company said Thursday in a statement. HP had 55,000 employees as of a year ago, the last time it disclosed the figure.
HP also announced it expects profit, excluding restructuring costs and other items, to be $2.22 to $2.32 a share in fiscal 2020. Analysts, on average, estimated $2.23 a share, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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HP Inc.’s new CEO unveils plan to cut up to 9,000 jobs
HP Inc.’s new CEO has unveiled the company’s latest plan to streamline its operations – one that envisions cutting its workforce by as much as 16% over the next three years.
The personal computer and printer maker says it expects to drop 7,000 to 9,000 people from its global workforce of about 55,000 by 2020. It expects the moves to save it about $1 billion a year by the end of its 2022 fiscal year.
HP announced the job cuts Thursday at a meeting with Wall Street analysts headlined by incoming CEO Enrique Lores. He had been overseeing the HP division that includes its profitable business of selling ink for the company's printers before being named to the top job last month.
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HP Layoffs 2019: 7,000 to 9,000 Staff Cuts Through Fiscal 2022
HP Inc. will cut 7,000 to 9,000 employees as part of a restructuring that will stretch from late fiscal 2019 through fiscal 2022, the PC and printer giant confirmed today. HP currently has about about 55,000 employees, SeekingAlpha estimates.
HP’s 2019 fiscal year 2019 ends of October 31, and the 2020 fiscal year kicks off on November 1. The layoff announcement arrives amid a CEO transition from Dion Weisler to Enrique Lores.
The announcement contained timely market jargon, describing how HP will become more “digitally enabled” while “disrupting industries.”
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HP Announces Layoffs, Restructuring Plan
After the market closed yesterday, HP Inc. (HPQ) revealed plans to lay off about 7,000–9,000 workers to boost profitability. HP announced these layoffs as a part of its restructuring efforts. After the market closed yesterday, HP Inc. (HPQ) revealed plans to lay off about 7,000–9,000 workers to boost profitability. HP announced these layoffs as a part of its restructuring efforts.
The company isn’t new to job cuts. In 2018, HP announced the layoff of 5,000 workers as a part of its restructuring plan. The latest job cuts are also a result of the same three-year restructuring plan. After its split from Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) in 2015, the company has seen ongoing reorganizations. This layoff affects 16% of the company’s workforce.
This is truly a period of change for the company. Its CEO and president, Dion Weisler, declared in August that he is going to step down in 2020. Weisler’s successor, Enrique Lores, supported the decision and said that the company is “taking bold and decisive actions as we embark on our next chapter.”
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Massive Layoffs: Banks Cutting Nearly 60,000 Jobs Worldwide
Bank employees are being laid off worldwide. Negative interest rates, political uncertainty and threats of trade wars on a global level have all played their part in eroding banks’ balance sheets, along with interest rate cuts which further reduce margins.
According to year-to-date company filings and labor union disclosures compiled by Bloomberg, banks have announced that they are cutting 58,200 jobs so far this year. The biggest layoffs are in Europe, where 52,424 jobs, or 90% of the total layoffs, are being slashed, as the European banking sector continues to struggle with profitability. Moreover, 2,769 workers in North America are being let go, as are 2,487 in the Middle East and Africa and 513 in the Asia Pacific region.
Furthermore, the data shows ten banks that have laid off the most workers in Europe, with Deutsche Bank leading the pack with 18,000 job cuts. The other banks on the top 10 list are Banco Santander, Commerzbank, HSBC, Barclays, Alfa Bank, KBC, Societe Generale, Caixabank, and the National Bank of Greece.
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Deutsche Bank (DB) Continues Revamping, To Layoff Employees
Deutsche Bank (DB - Free Report) is mulling to lay off dozens of employees in its global fixed-income unit, Bloomberg reported. Notably, this unit did not undergo job cuts in July when the bank undertook a major overhaul, with plans to slash about 15,000-20,000 jobs, with majority in the equities trading business.
Per the source, high yield, distressed and investment-grade debt teams have major layoffs in New York and abroad. To speed up the transformation strategy for improving profitability as many of the units have underperformed, the bank is making moves to reduce staff.
Moreover, among others, the credit business in Latin America has been closed down. However, some services will be entertained to support the existing clients there. Therefore, as part of major restructuring, chief executive officer Christian Sewing will not spare any division which is unprofitable for Deutsche Bank.
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Deutsche Bank employees in Singapore face looming threat of retrenchment as German firm carries massive overhaul globally
Deutsche Bank’s employees in Singapore are currently on edge as the German multinational investment bank and financial services company embarks on its sweeping restructuring plan, which will impact around 18,000 jobs globally in its first round of retrenchments.
CNA reported on Mon (8 Jul) that staff members in Deutsche Bank’s Singapore unit who have not been affected by the layoffs are pessimistic about their future at the bank.
A banker in Singapore told CNA: “The news is obviously depressing but at least there’s some clarity on the businesses we are still going to focus on. My access card is working fine. So I am safe for now. What happens tomorrow, who knows but for now, I hope this is it.”
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Deutsche Bank Recently Axed 18,000 Jobs Globally
At Deutsche Bank’s offices around the world on 8 July 2019, workers can be spotted leaving with their belongings. As part of its restructuring plan, the German-headquartered bank announced that it will be dramatically reducing its fixed income operations and eliminate its global equities business. This will result in 18,000 jobs being lost.
If you were to understand how banks operate, then you might not be surprised. After all, we’ve all heard our fair share of stories about how banks treat employees as ‘disposable’, which this TODAY article explains.
When companies are doing well, bonuses and higher salaries roll out rapidly to reward workers. But when things go downhill, employees are removed with great haste and not much qualms. With such a cavalier attitude, it is no wonder that loyalty on either side no longer exists.
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Details of Barclays Singapore job cuts start to emerge
Barclays in Singapore looks set to take at least a 15% share of the 1,000 global job cuts that the bank announced last month. Up to 150 staff will be axed.
It was always certain that many of the redundancies would be in Asia as Barclays shuttered its investment bank in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand – but until recently details of Barclays’ job cuts in Singapore remained sketchy. Now a report in the Straits Times has helped shine some light.
An anonymous employee of the British bank in Singapore told the newspaper that 70 people were laid off in January and another 30 to 40 front-office staff will be culled in both March and May, taking the total to between 130 and 150. There will be layoffs in operations too, although the numbers are less certain. “In the next few months, the bank will shrink its finance back office which currently has about 250 people,” says the banker.
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Forever 21 files for bankruptcy & plans to close up to 178 stores worldwide
Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy on Sep. 29, 2019. Fast fashion retailer Forever 21 has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sep. 29, 2019.
Chapter 11 involves a “re-organization of a debtor’s business affairs, debts, and assets”. This helps the retailer restructure debts and gives the debtor a “fresh start”.
According to the news release, Forever 21 obtained US$275 million in financing from its existing lenders with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as the agent, and US$75 million in new capital from TPG Sixth Street Partners, as well as some of its affiliated funds. The filing comes after attempts to negotiate with possible lenders in late August.
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Forever 21 closing stores in bankruptcy filing shows limits to fast fashion
Fast-fashion retailer Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy late on Sunday, joining a growing list of brick-and-mortar companies that have seen sales hit by the rise of competition from online sellers like Amazon.com Inc and the changing fashion trends dictated by millennial shoppers.
Forever 21 Inc, the privately held company that helped popularize trendy and cheap clothing, has fallen out of favor with shoppers, in part due to other retailers like Sweden’ H&M and Spain’s Zara that churn out affordable styles similar to those recently seen on designer runways.
Younger, more environmentally conscious shoppers are also choosing brands that ethically source garments instead of retailers that use cheap fabrics to make T-shirts that are snapped up for $5. Resale sites like thredUp.com, which calls itself the largest online thrift store, are also growing in popularity.
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Forever 21 files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, may close up to 178 US stores
Fashion retailer Forever 21 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Sunday after being hobbled by expensive leases, declining mall traffic, digital competition and fashion choices that fell flat.
Forever 21 requested court protection from its creditors in a bid to stay in business. The family-owned company, which has about 32,800 employees, said it would close "most" of its stores in Asia and Europe and up to 178 stores in the U.S.
The retailer said the exact number of closures would be contingent on negotiations with landlords, but "we ... expect a significant number of these stores will remain open and operate as usual, and we do not expect to exit any major markets in the U.S."
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Forever 21 files for bankruptcy and will close up to 178 US stores
Forever 21, the teenage clothing emporium that rode America's mall boom and bust, has filed for bankruptcy.
The chain said it is planning to overhaul its global business, closing between 300 and 350 stores, including as many as 178 in the United States. It also plans to exit "most of its international locations in Asia and Europe." The company, which currently has 549 US stores and 251 in other countries, will continue to operate in Mexico and Latin America.
In a letter to customers on Sunday night, the company said that decisions about which US stores would close were continuing, "pending the outcome of continued conversations with landlords."
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Forever 21 files for bankruptcy, adding to retail apocalypse; to close most of its Asia and Europe stores
Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy protection, adding another big fashion merchant to the tally of retailers who couldn't cope with high rents and heavy competition.
CNBC reported that the retailer plans to exit most of its international locations in Asia and Europe, and has requested approval to close up to 178 US stores. Forever 21, which has 815 stores globally, said it does not expect to exit any major markets in the US and will continue operations in Mexico and Latin America.
Currently, there is just one Forever 21 store in Singapore, at 313@Somerset. The Straits Times has sent queries to the Sharaf Group, based in the United Arab Emirates, which is licensed to run the Forever 21 store here.
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IBM shutting its Tampines plant, laying off more workers
Nine years after it opened with much fanfare, global technology giant IBM’s manufacturing facility in Tampines will be shut, with the remaining workers to be laid off.
The shutting of the IBM Singapore Technology Park comes after several rounds of retrenchments were carried out between May and July last year. In an email reply to TODAY, the American firm said that the manufacturing of its mainframe computers, known as IBM Z, will move to Poughkeepsie, New York in the United States.
It also said that the move is a result of “IBM's continual review of the most efficient way to source (its) products”.
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IBM Tampines plant shutting down, all workers retrenched
A nine-year-old IBM manufacturing facility in Tampines will be shut down and hundreds of workers retrenched, Today reported.
All affected employees will leave the IBM Singapore Technology Park by the end of July 2019.
IBM released this information in a statement to Today, but declined to reveal the full extent of the number of workers retrenched.
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IBM is laying off more than 1,000 employees
IBM said Thursday that it’s laying off a small percentage of employees, confirming reports that appeared earlier in the day on TheLayoff, an online message board.
A person familiar with the matter said the cuts affect about one-half of 1% of employees. IBM has more than 340,000 employees, according to its last proxy statement, which means the cuts would affect around 1,700 employees.
“We are continuing to reposition our team to align with our focus on the high-value segments of the IT market, and we also continue to hire aggressively in critical new areas that deliver value for our clients and IBM,” a company spokesperson told CNBC in an email. The company’s jobs page lists 7,705 openings.
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IBM To Axe All S'pore Staff As It Shuts Down Its S$90M Tampines Plant In July 2019
Last year July, TODAY reported that “hundreds of IBM Singapore employees” were laid off as part of the tech giant’s global restructuring activities.
At least 200 staff were being laid off at that time and there were approximately 400 to 600 staff working at the Tampines plant, according to the people who worked at IBM.
This year, the entire IBM Singapore Technology Park will be shut down, as the last batch of employees are set to finish serving their notice by July this year. Some staff and subcontractors told TODAY that “at least 70 percent” of the employees will leave by the end of April.
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DFS handling of layoffs could have been better, says minister
Travel retailer DFS Group could have better handled its recent retrenchment exercise, particularly the way it communicated with its employees and how it offered severance packages, Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo said yesterday.
In a Facebook post, Mrs Teo said the Taskforce for Responsible Retrenchment and Employment Facilitation has been activated to help the affected staff from T Galleria by DFS in Scotts Road.
The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices has also stepped in to engage DFS.
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DFS job cuts expose Singapore’s sensitivity as growth lags
DFS Group Ltd.’s job cuts in Singapore have prompted a rebuke from the city-state’s authorities, shining a spotlight on how handling retrenchments are a delicate matter in the country that’s anticipating elections soon.
The duty-free operator last week formally terminated jobs of its airport workers, effective in June when it exits selling alcohol and cigarettes at Singapore’s Changi Airport. DFS also told some of its employees at other outlets they would no longer have jobs -- some effective immediately, some ending over the next several months, the company said Thursday in response to Bloomberg queries.
The move sparked complaints about the severance packages offered, and how the LVMH-backed travel retailer could have handled the retrenchment better in communicating with the workers. It also prompted a weigh-in by the city-state’s manpower minister.
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Axed DFS staff surprised by lay-offs, wants higher compensation
It was supposed to be her day off last Thursday (Sept 26), but Rachel (not her real name) received an urgent message the night before telling her that she had to go back to her workplace for an important meeting.
Little did she expect, after a few words and a letter, that she would be unceremoniously retrenched by her long-time employer, DFS. She was told to pack and leave immediately.
“Why were we not given advance notice?” asked Rachel, who is above 50 years old.
Unhappy with the way she was let go by the company that she worked for for more than 30 years, Rachel is among about 60 retrenched staff who are trying to seek a better severance package from DFS with the help of the Tripartite Alliance of Dispute Management (TADM).
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StarHub Lays Off 300 Staff - Claims Its Retrenchment Package Is "More Generous" Than Market Standard
In early October this year, local telco StarHub announced that it is laying off 300 out of its 2,500 full-time employees as part of the company’s $25 million restructuring initiative.
According to StarHub, this retrenchment exercise will mainly affect “non-customer facing positions throughout the company”. “On-going natural attrition and tighter management of contractor roles will result in additional roles being made redundant,” it added.
StarHub’s CEO Mr Peter Kaliaropoulos clarified that these “redundancies are not an individual performance issue, but one of strategic realignment of StarHub. Some positions are not sustainable given the current industry pressures.”
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StarHub employees in shock over retrenchment exercise; suggest reduction of senior leadership staff’s salaries instead of layoffs
Despite rumours surrounding an impending retrenchment exercise, StarHub employees did not anticipate the telecommunications giant to slash as many as 300 of its workers.
Following the announcement of the company’s restructuring exercise on Wednesday (3 Oct), several StarHub staff members have expressed their apprehension over the news, fearing that they might be a part of the layoff.
One StarHub employee said to TODAY Online: “StarHub still is a profitable company. We still believe that StarHub can do better than downsizing,” he added. He added that instead of downsizing, StarHub should reduce the salary of senior leadership staff in the company.
The StarHub employee also noted that the management has briefed them on the compensation package that they will receive in the event of retrenchment. Compensation will be proportionate to the duration of their service at StarHub. For each year of their employment at StarHub, employees will receive a month’s worth of salary, in tandem with the framework set by the Ministry of Manpower.
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Lazard Asset Management to cut workforce, shut down some funds by year-end
Lazard's asset-management division plans to cut as much as 7 per cent of its workforce and shut down some investment funds by the end of the year, a person briefed on the matter said.
Lazard told employees about the cutbacks last week, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the move hasn't been announced.
Investment and non-investment roles will be affected, the person said. The unit had 850 employees as of June 30, meaning a 7 per cent reduction could bring about 60 firings.
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Layoff Rumors Swirl at Samsung Semiconductor R&D Center
The Samsung R&D Center in Austin, Texas (SARC) was founded in 2010 to develop CPUs and system IP, including interconnects and memory controllers. Development for Samsung’s custom CPU core is reportedly handled here, which would make sense — Samsung’s CPU dev team has at least a few ex-AMD employees on it, and Austin has been a major hub for AMD for decades. According to rumors, however, SARC has just been hit by major layoffs.
The scope of these layoffs is currently unclear. Some sources have said that a single project was canceled, while others have implied a larger number of employee firings. Like Apple and Huawei, Samsung has invested in building its own custom CPU cores based on its own version of the ARMv8 architecture rather than solely licensing cores from ARM itself. Samsung, however, has struggled to compete in this space.
Anandtech has written excellent deep dives into both the M3 and M4 CPU cores. Tests on the chip at the microarchitectural level have shown that its overall performance is capable of matching the Snapdragon 855, barely, but at significantly worse power efficiency. Evaluated strictly on its technical implementation, the M4 doesn’t look great, as exemplified by this quote.
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Singapore employers more cautious in hiring, as job vacancies in Q2 2019 continue to decline, says report
In light of economic headwinds, hiring sentiments continued to be cautious for the second quarter of this year. The number of job vacancies offered on the market continued to decline from the previous quarter, as the resident unemployment rate inched upwards, based on the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) latest labour market report released on Thursday.
For the first time since December 2017, there were fewer job vacancies than unemployed persons. In June, there were 93 job openings per 100 job seekers. In comparison, there were 108 job vacancies per 100 job seekers in March.
Nevertheless, MOM noted that the “retrenchments remained low and the resident long-term unemployment rate held steady”.
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PMET unemployment in Singapore continues to climb
Jeremy Ho* (not his real name) began his job hunt even before receiving his retrenchment notice in June, having heard about impending job cuts at the bank where he had spent six years. But 20 applications and three interviews later, the 39-year-old remains jobless.
Ho is part of a growing group of Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) that seem unable to break out of the retrenchment rut. According to the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) latest labour report, while retrenchments fell from 3,230 in the first quarter to 2,320 in the second, the number of PMETs who lost their jobs increased from 1,440 to 1,680, making them the bulk of those retrenched. Nearly half of those told to go had a degree, and 70 per cent were over 40.
“PMETs continue to form a much larger share of retrenched workers compared to their proportion in the workforce,” said DBS senior economist Irvin Seah. PMETs made up 57 per cent of the resident workforce in 2018.
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Latest MOM data: Number of PMETs losing their jobs continues to climb
The latest labour report from the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) revealed that while retrenchments fell from 3,230 in the first quarter to 2,320 in the second, the number of PMETs who lost their jobs actually increased from 1,440 to 1,680. PMETs formed the bulk of those retrenched (‘PMET unemployment in Singapore continues to climb‘, 3 Oct).
Nearly half of the retrenched workers have a degree, and 70 per cent were over 40 years old. In fact, the proportion of PMETs among all retrenched workers has been rising over nearly the last decade despite their skills and qualifications.
Sadly, the rate of re-entering the workforce for PMETs after being retrenched for 6 months was reported to be 57.8 per cent in the second quarter. A large number remained unemployed even after 6 months.
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Singapore’s employers are retaining workers despite economic headwinds
In the just-launched Labour Market Report Second Quarter 2019 by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM), trends suggest that employers are retaining their existing workers despite economic headwinds.
This is attested to by the numbers which show that retrenchments were lower (2,320 in Q2 2019) than the previous quarter (3,230 in Q1 2019), and a year ago (3,030).
The decline in layoffs was broad-based, but in particular electronics. There were fewer retrenchments among production & related workers (1,350 to 340) and clerical, sales & service workers (440 to 290); but layoffs among professionals, managers, executives & technicians (PMETs) rose from 1,440 to 1,680.
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Labour Market Second Quarter 2019
This quarterly release analyses the labour market situation. Topics covered include unemployment, employment, retrenchment, re-entry into employment, job vacancy, labour turnover and hours worked. Key Findings: Final data confirmed that employers are retaining their existing workers despite economic headwinds. Retrenchments were lower than the previous quarter, and total employment continued to increase.
At the same time, hiring sentiments have turned cautious. The number of job vacancies declined for the second consecutive quarter. The re-entry rates among retrenched residents declined. As the resident unemployment rate inched up, there were fewer job vacancies than unemployed persons for the first time since December 2017.
This edition also features a technical note on short work-week and temporary layoff. The number of employees placed on short work-week or temporary layoff is usually read as an indication of economic slowdown. These temporary arrangements are viewed as better alternatives to retrenchments, as they do not completely take away employee benefits, and serve as an indication of the company’s commitment to its employees.
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Patrick Tay 郑德源 11 September at 19:40
<Latest : MOM Labour Market Report Q2 2019>
Key Highlights from this morning’s figures released by MOM:
- (i) Retrenchments in Q2 2019 (2320) were lower than the preceding quarter (3230).
- (ii) Resident and Citizen unemployment rates inched up from 3.0% to 3.1% and 3.2% to 3.3%.
- (iii) Total employment grew by 6200 in Q2 but lower than 10,700 in Q1 but H1 2019 (16,900) still higher than H1 2018 (6,900).
- (iv) Total Job Vacancies in Q2 (47,700) is lower than Q1 (57,100).
For the first half of 2019, despite the current global trade tensions, we did not see a huge spike in retrenchment figures compared to the same period last year but there is a weakening of the labour market. I expect companies and businesses to be more conservative and cautious, especially in hiring in the latter half of 2019 with the continued US-China trade tensions. We will continue to see different measures (shorter work week, flexible work arrangements and re-deployment etc) undertaken by companies in different industries as they cope with the global trade crisis while managing transformation and technological disruption.
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Retrenchment: Summary Table Released on: 12 September 2019
Source: Labour Market Survey, Manpower Research & Statistics Department, MOM
Retrenchment refers to the termination of permanent employees due to redundancy and early termination of term contract employees due to redundancy.
Data on retrenchment are useful in monitoring the impact of an economic downturn or restructuring on workers and in identifying industries which are re-structuring or ailing.
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More workers retrenched in first quarter 2019 than a year ago, job vacancies decline
More workers were retrenched in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter and a year ago, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in a report released on Thursday (June 13).
The increase was driven by manufacturing and affected workers in production and electronics, the ministry’s latest labour report said.
And after seven consecutive quarters — or close to two years — of increases, the number of job vacancies declined in the first quarter of this year, from 62,300 last December to 57,100 in March this year.
Here are the key findings from the report:
- As of the first quarter of this year, 3,230 workers were retrenched. This was higher than the quarter before (2,510 workers) and a year ago (2,320).
- Top reason for retrenchments: Business restructuring and reorganisation. But the report also said that high costs and a downturn in the market have led to the higher layoffs.
- Electronics formed 18 per cent of the retrenchments, followed by the services industries such as wholesale trade at 16 per cent, and the transportation and storage sectors at 10 per cent.
- Among those retrenched, professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) continued to form the majority at 69 per cent. They are “more prone” to layoffs since they make up a larger share of the workforce.
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More Retrenchments To Come In Singapore
Following Singapore’s economic growth that had slowed to 0.1% in Q2 2019 (the slowest in a decade), sectors such as manufacturing, electronics and precision engineering are feeling the effects.
Economists have predicted that more retrenchments and fewer job vacancies are well underway especially for outward-oriented sectors which have been hit by the US-China trade war. According to Ministry of Manpower (MOM) data, Q1 2019 showed an increase in retrenchments compared to Q4 2018.
Despite the availability of job opportunities in sector such as infocomm technology, asset managements, financial technology and PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians in sectors like financial and professional services), the issue of job-skill mismatch continue to contribute to job vacancies. Jobs in these sectors are skilled and specialised making it difficult for those being retrenched to fill up these vacancies.
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Singapore could come off worse than regional neighbours in next global downturn
Growth rates are lower and commodities are less able to cushion the blow.
Singapore could emerge far worse when the next global crash hits as four out of the five factors that once protected the city during the Great Financial Crisis have weakened and magnify the impact on the export-oriented city, according to a report from Bain.
“The last global recession has hit Singapore harder than most peers with the change in real GDP,” Bain said in a report.
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Metro leaving Centrepoint while DFS leaving Changi Airport
The Centrepoint was built in 1983 with six storeys and two basement levels, opening with British retailer Robinsons as its anchor tenant.ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
After five years as The Centrepoint's anchor tenant, department store Metro will close its flagship store at the mall next month.
This comes after several other tenants also announced plans to move out, including Times Bookstores and TianPo Jewellery.
Sporting goods giant Decathlon will replace Metro as The Centrepoint's new anchor tenant, and is slated to open in the first half of next year.
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