HannsTouch Solution Inc (和鑫光電), which makes touch panels used in electronic devices, has launched a second wave of layoffs in order to cut costs, the Southern Taiwan Science Park Administration said yesterday.
In its latest move to reduce its headcount, the company sent pink slips to 250 workers after cutting 200 jobs in October, the administration said.
The money-losing company two months ago said it needed fewer workers after an automation system was put in place.
“We have received a notification from HannsTouch that it plans to eliminate 250 jobs at its touch module and touch sensor production lines,” a government official in charge of labor issues for the science park administration said by telephone yesterday.
The official requested not to be named.
“HannsTouch is a rare case in launching large-scale layoffs this year among companies with operations in the Southern Science Park,” the official said.
After the workforce adjustment, HannsTouch’s workforce would be reduced to about 2,600 employees, the official said.
That suggests that HannsTouch has cut about 15 percent of its workforce within three months, compared with the 3,000 workers it had registered at the beginning of this year.
HannsTouch spokesman Arthur Lu (呂清平) could not be reached for comments as of press time yesterday.
HannsTouch posted losses of NT$2 billion (US$69 million) for the first three quarters of this year, bringing total losses to NT$5.53 billion since 2009.
Shares of HannsTouch tumbled 2.36 percent to NT$10.35 yesterday, under-performing the TAIEX’s 0.99 percent decline.
The administration said it would safeguard the interests of those workers affected and assist them in finding new jobs.
At the moment, the nation’s biggest panel maker Innolux Corp (群創光電) and Epistar Corp (晶電), the largest LED chipmaker in Taiwan, are recruiting 200 workers and 390 workers respectively, for their production lines in Southern Taiwan Science Park, the official said.
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