Officials said yesterday they would slash up to 6 percent of government jobs this year the government tries to trim costs and pare a budget deficit amid Taiwan's worst-ever level of unemployment.
``We are reviewing unfilled positions first,'' said James Fan, a director at the Central Personnel Administration.
The government now employs about 300,000 employees in administrative departments and state-run companies. Fan said the government wants to pare 18,000 jobs from the state payroll this year and 19,000 next year. The average annual wage of NT$1 million paid to government employees amounts to US$28,900.
He estimates about 2 percent of the cuts will come from government agencies and 11 percent will come from state-owned companies, where privatization and restructuring already have reduced job numbers.
The government is facing a NT$195 billion budget deficit this year as technology companies post lower earnings amid a global drop in demand for chips, mobile phones and electronics.
``There is a need for fiscal management in Taiwan,'' said Irmak Surenkok, an economist at Primasia Securities Co. ``The more viable solution seems to be tax reform, and basically cutting the cost of wages.'' Business leaders have suggested the government cut corporate taxes.
State-owned companies, such as China Shipbuilding Corp (
Selling off state-owned companies should play a key role in cutting wage costs, Surenkok said.
Meanwhile, the government may shelve plans to sell a NT$40 billion (US$1.2 billion) stake in China Steel Corp (中鋼) this year because its asking price is twice the current share price after the stock market has lost two-fifths of its value the past year.
``I think the chances are very low because of the economic situation and a bad domestic stock market,'' said David Chan, Ministry of Economic Affairs spokesman.
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