About one in six local companies is considering sending employees on unpaid leave as a way to reduce operating costs amid a sluggish economy, online job bank yes123 said yesterday.
Citing a survey of 705 companies conducted from Oct. 20 to Oct. 30, the job bank said that 16.9 percent of companies are likely to implement employee furloughs before the Lunar New Year, which falls in January, as the economy continues to slow down.
Lower-level employees are likely to be the first to be sent on furlough, as indicated by 76.6 percent of the companies polled, the job bank said.
A total of 1,223 workers at 33 companies had agreed to take unpaid leave, including 1,218 who are already on furlough, data compiled by the Ministry of Labor showed.
Yes123 spokesperson Yang Tsung-pin (楊宗斌) said that economic prospects early next year would depend on the performance of export-oriented sectors, including the manufacturing and high-tech industries.
Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管) yesterday confirmed that it would send employees on furlough from Tuesday until the end of December next year.
Local media said the furloughs are likely to affect about 3,000 employees at the Taoyuan-based flat-panel maker, with most of them taking one or two days of unpaid leave per week.
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