The latest victim of Taiwan's economic recession appears to be wage earners with year-end bonuses given out by most businesses expected to drop 10 percent from last year, said a market watcher yesterday.
"With most companies reporting slow sales in 2001, year-end bonuses are likely to slip by at least 10 percent this year," said Wayne Shiah (
Taiwanese firms traditionally award employees with one or two months of their regular monthly wage just before luner New Year as a bonus for the end of the lunar calender. The luner New Year falls on Feb. 12 this year.
Employees of banks, hotels, travel agencies and traditional manufacturers are expected to be the hardest hit, with year-end bonuses dropping 15 percent over last year, Shiah said.
"In 1994, bank staff got more than a 12-month bonus, while this year the amount will be only two or three months," he said
Despite the tough times in the high-tech sector, bonuses may still remain high.
"We expect the high-tech sector's year-end bonuses to be about the same as last year," said Rocky Yang (楊基寬), general manager at 104 Job Bank Corp (104人力銀行).
Although the industry saw a slump in demand for most of the year, their sales began to pick up after November, he said.
"People that are technologically literate are in demand, and companies will try to keep employees by providing good bonuses," Yang said.
For instance, the nation's leading mobile phone service operator, Taiwan Cellular Corp (
"Although its bonus used to be as high as eight-months pay, this year's amount still surpasses other companies in the sector," Shiah said.
Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (
Chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) will only provide a bonus equal to one-month's salary, but it will also provide a performance bonus in April.
"The performance bonus is what we really look forward to because it is usually quite large," said Jenny Wang, a public relations official at UMC.
Staff at discount retailers may see higher bonuses this year as a result of a jump in sales.
"The year-end bonus will probably increase by one-month over last year," said Fiona Wang (王彤芳), a public relations manager at consumer wholesaler RT-Mart Ltd (大潤發量販店).
The sluggish economy has driven consumers to discount outlets, Yang said. Store managers at RT-Mart are anticipating a seven-month bonus this year. The venture reported a 10 percent increase in sales over the previous year.
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