Inventec Solar Energy Corp (英穩達), a solar cell production subsidiary of Taiwan-based notebook computer maker Inventec Corp (英業達), denied on Friday last week that it laid off more than 100 employees.
In early December, 125 production line employees sought legal mediation to settle a dispute with the company and an agreement was reached with 114, who decided to stay, Inventec Solar Energy said in a statement.
The 11 workers who failed to settle left the company and requested compensation, which the it refused to pay, the solar cell maker said.
The statement was released after local media reported on Friday that the company laid off more than 100 workers at the beginning of the year.
The reports sparked attention, particularly after Hannstar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶), a maker of small and medium-sized screens, announced earlier last week that it would lay off about 80 workers.
The reported layoffs came as the industry faces a supply glut.
In a separate statement, the Taoyuan Department of Labor said there had been no large layoffs at the solar cell maker.
The requests for mediation from 125 Inventec Solar Energy employees followed a change in the company’s pay structure, but after mediation, the employer agreed to return to the original pay structure, the department said, confirming that 114 of those seeking mediation chose to stay, while 11 left.
The department said it would continue to monitor whether Inventec Solar Energy complies with labor regulations, protecting the rights and benefits of its employees.
Hannstar on Wednesday last week said that it had laid off about 80 workers, including many from its production lines, but added that the layoff was part of its normal workforce adjustments and had nothing to do with the company’s finances.
Hannstar has ample cash and cash equivalents available through low-interest bank loans, the company said.
The company expects to start the Year of the Pig with about 20 new employees, Hannstar said, but added that the flat-panel industry is undergoing inventory adjustments that have affected shipments.
Hannstar’s consolidated sales totaled NT$741 million (US$24.1 million) in December, down 33.6 percent from a month earlier and down 57.8 percent from a year earlier.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
PRESSURE EXPECTED: The appreciation of the NT dollar reflected expectations that Washington would press Taiwan to boost its currency against the US dollar, dealers said Taiwan’s export-oriented semiconductor and auto part manufacturers are expecting their margins to be affected by large foreign exchange losses as the New Taiwan dollar continued to appreciate sharply against the US dollar yesterday. Among major semiconductor manufacturers, ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光), the world’s largest integrated circuit (IC) packaging and testing services provider, said that whenever the NT dollar rises NT$1 against the greenback, its gross margin is cut by about 1.5 percent. The NT dollar traded as strong as NT$29.59 per US dollar before trimming gains to close NT$0.919, or 2.96 percent, higher at NT$30.145 yesterday in Taipei trading
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