Malaysia – More than 50,000 workers to be laid off in 2018

By memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Danny Romero)

The Malaysian Employers Federation announced that 2018 would be a challenging year for its employment outlook as over 50,000 workers will lose their jobs during the year.

According to the Federation’s executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan, the retrenchment trend of the past few years would continue in 2018. Shamsuddin Bardan added that this year would be more challenging than past years because employers would have to bear higher operating costs, including the newly implemented Employment Insurance Scheme and foreign worker levy, along with the minimum wage scheme to be reviewed in July.

“These factors will force employers to tighten their cost management by laying off workers, while some may reduce their workforce dependence by adopting new technologies and techniques,” Shamsuddin Bardan said.

“Additionally, due to the Employment Insurance Scheme, employers are more prepared to accept their companies’ retrenchment plans,” Shamsuddin Bardan said.

Furthermore, the Federation expects the banking, insurance, services, manufacturing and construction sectors to be the hardest hit while the plantation industry would be relatively stable.

Malaysia’s unemployment rate stood at 3.4% in October, according to figures from Statistics Malaysia.

Source:: Malaysia – More than 50,000 workers to be laid off in 2018