Year-end bonuses are likely to be the smallest in eight years, a survey released yesterday by 104 Job Bank (104人力銀行) found, as 93.8 percent of companies are planning bonuses equivalent to 1.1 months of wages, or 0.05 months less than last year.
It is a tradition in Taiwan for companies to distribute year-end bonuses ahead of the Lunar New Year to show appreciation to their employees.
The results showed that while some sectors have fared well, others have taken a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo: Reuters
For 10 consecutive years, financial firms have topped the survey. The results of the 2,086 companies polled between Oct. 26 and Oct. 31 showed that employees of banks, securities firms and insurance companies could look forward to bonuses equivalent to 1.84 months of wages, as rising stock markets across the world have bolstered the businesses’ profits.
Finance firms were followed by semiconductor companies at 1.57 months and construction companies at 1.23 months.
Most hotels and restaurants, which have experienced sluggish business during the two years of the pandemic, have canceled year-end bonuses, although a minority said they were pressing ahead with bonuses equivalent to 0.5 months of wages.
Next year, 39.3 percent of companies would raise wages by an average of 3.1 percent, or NT$1,302, which is a slower pace than the 4 percent pay increase for public-sector employees or the 5 percent hike in the minimum wage.
Software providers, financial institutions and semiconductor firms are running neck and neck with planned wage increases of 3.6 percent, the results showed.
This year, semiconductor firms would offer the highest average employee salaries at NT$921,000, followed by telecoms at NT$839,000 and financial firms at NT$808,000.
The results also showed that 47.7 percent of the companies intended to increase their headcounts by 10 percent.
Semiconductor firms reported the most vacancies, followed by manufacturers of consumer electronics and Internet software companies, the result showed.
Ryanair, Transavia, Volotea and other low-cost airlines are feeling the financial pain from high jet fuel prices as a result of the Middle East war and are cutting flights. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has taken a huge chunk of oil supplies off the market, sending the price of jet fuel soaring and triggering fears of shortages that could force airlines to cancel flights. Airlines are not waiting for a lack of supplies to react. “Travel alert: Airlines are cutting thousands of flights right now,” Travel Therapy host Karen Schaler said in an Instagram reel this past weekend.
MANAGING RISKS: Taiwan has secured LNG sufficient to cover 95 percent of electricity demand for next month, UBS said, describing the government’s approach as proactive UBS Group AG has raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth this year to 8 percent, up from 6.9 percent previously, and said expansion could reach as high as 8.6 percent if external energy shocks are avoided. The upgrade reflects a stronger-than-expected first-quarter performance and sustained momentum in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven exports, which UBS said are providing a firm foundation for growth despite geopolitical and energy risks. Taiwan’s GDP expanded 13.69 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, the fastest growth since the second quarter of 1987, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) reported on Thursday. On a seasonally
The list of Asian stocks that benefit from business partnership with Nvidia Corp is getting longer, as the region further integrates into the artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant’s business ecosystem. Just in the past week, South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc, Taiwan’s Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), as well as China’s Huizhou Desay SV Automotive Co (德賽西威) and Pateo Connect Technology Shanghai Corp (博泰車聯) have become the latest to rally on news of tie-ups, supply-chain participation or product collaboration with the US chip designer. Asian suppliers account for about 90 percent of Nvidia’s production costs, up from about 65 percent last year, data compiled
The Fair Trade Commission’s (FTC) ongoing review of Grab Holdings Ltd’s US$600 million acquisition of Foodpanda Taiwan’s operations, announced on March 23, has taken on fresh urgency as industry experts warn that the transaction could embed significant Chinese cybersecurity vulnerabilities into Taiwan’s digital infrastructure through Grab’s deep ties to autonomous-driving firm WeRide (文遠知行). Less than 16 months after the FTC blocked Uber Eats’ direct attempt to acquire Foodpanda Taiwan — citing potential combined market shares of 80 to 90 percent — the emergence of Grab as the buyer has prompted questions about whether the same competitive harm is simply being rerouted
RSS