A slowing economy could force about 10 percent of Taiwanese employers to trim their workforces in the coming months, according to a survey conducted by online job bank yes123.
The survey, which was released yesterday, showed that 9.8 percent of 783 corporate respondents said they planned to downsize through lay-offs before the Lunar New Year holiday, which will fall in February next year.
Based on local tradition, employers do not have to pay year-end bonuses to employees who leave their jobs before the Lunar New Year holiday.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Citing the survey, the job bank said that 74.1 percent of the employers polled are likely to lay off low-level employees, while 33.3 percent of them could cut the number of middle-level employees.
The survey’s results came as recent data showed weakness in Taiwan’s economy as global demand slows. Many market analysts fear it will be hard for the nation to maintain its GDP growth at 1 percent for this year.
Amid cautious sentiment toward the economic climate, 19.4 percent of the employers have plans to cut wages, while 51.9 percent of them will target middle-level employees, 48.1 percent are targeting low-level employees and 48.1 percent are targeting high-ranking executives, according to the survey.
In another survey conducted by the job bank, 69.6 percent of 1,620 employees said that they fear they will be laid off before the Lunar New Year, while 65.4 percent of them said that they might have to take a pay cut due to the most recent economic slowdown.
Anxiety about possible lay offs and pay cuts is more visible in the fourth quarter or in the first quarter of a year with the Lunar New Year holiday approaching, as employers announce policy changes ahead of the holiday.
The survey showed that 47.2 percent of the employees had been laid off before, while 40.5 percent of them had previously received a pay cut.
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