Layoffs hit textile-garment workers hardest

Attending a National Assembly meeting on Sunday, Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said nearly 280,000 lost jobs in the first five months.

Of them,70,000 were workers in the textile and garment industry, followed by electronic components with 45,000, and footwear with 31,600.

During the period, 17,000 laborers were let go without any compensation, and textile-garment accounted for most of these with 5,000 laborers.

Localities where laborers were discharged the most were Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh and Hai Duong, all homes to Vietnam’s major industrial hubs.

Textile-garment is also the field where workers reduced working hours the most, with 66,600, followed by footwear with 66,100.

In the five-month period, more than 8,600 companies cut jobs. A total of 27% were foreign-invested firms, and 72% private companies.

Dung explained that the mass layoff had taken place due to a lack of orders resulting from global economic difficulties, high inflation, and tight monetary policy, as well as a decline in market demand for fashion and electronics.

He said that many businesses now had a lot of inventory that they could not export, while new orders were not arriving.