Mass worker layoffs threaten social ‘instability’ in HCMC: police

At a meeting held Friday to discuss the city’s socioeconomic situation this year, Le Hong Nam, director of the police department, said security, order and safety could be threatened as unemployed people migrate to cities looking for jobs.

Truong Minh Huy Vu, deputy head of the HCMC Institute for Development Studies, said mass layoffs after Tet due to economic, political and supply chain issues are creating a social security burden.

Phan Van Mai, chairman of the city People’s Committee, has instructed the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to identify jobs for laid-off workers. It would also help move workers into industries the city wants to develop further, he added.

In the last two months the city has recorded 281 cases of social order violations, resulting in six deaths and 29 injuries and property loss of around VND3 billion ($126,450).

Besides 358 people were arrested and seven criminal gangs were busted by the police, Nam said.

Referring to cybersecurity he said the police recently discovered that certain Chinese smartphones were sending data back to service providers in China.

The AI language model ChatGPT is being used by certain people to fabricate information, he added.