The Cabinet-level Council for Economic Planning and Develop-ment is expected to discuss a restructuring plan of the debt-ridden China Shipbuilding Corp (中國造船) today, the Chinese-language media reported yesterday.
The state-run shipbuilding company, which has incurred NT$1.08 billion (US$33.7 million) in operating losses as of the end of April, may lay off about half of its 5,100 workers and reduce salaries of the remaining employees by 35 percent in the near future, the report said.
The company's employees enjoy average monthly wages of around NT$70,000, double the average income of workers in the manufacturing sector.
The restructuring plan was proposed by the Commission of National Corporations (
According to officials at the commission, amid the sluggish economy China Shipbuilding is expected to run out of capital before the year's end with estimated losses of NT$4.5 billion for the year against a current net value of roughly NT$3.28 billion.
Under the commission's restructuring plan, the government needs to budget a total of NT$20.7 billion for the layoffs.
To fill the bill, the commission has suggested to allot an NT$18.7 billion special fund managed by the Ministry of Finance for the layoffs, along with NT$2 billion provided by the company itself.
The commission also suggested letting the company make more warships for the navy instead of buying them from abroad. To do so, the commission is planning to coordinate with the Ministry of National Defense and private shipbuilders with the aim to help China Shipbuilding's bottom line.
In early May, Lin Shih-chi (
The plan to let go of some 2,500 employees at the shipbuilding company has caused economists to worry that it would exacerbate unemployment problems, especially in southern Taiwan where the problem has been particularly severe.
Unemployment hit a 15-year high of 3.98 percent in March and may soar to a record high when the government announces the April figures on Wednesday, economists said.
RSS