THE 2,000 workers who will be laid off by hard-disk maker Seagate, which is shutting down its Ang Mo Kio plant next year, will get help from the Manpower Ministry, the union and their employer.
Some workers will get to explore redeployment within the company, others will be provided opportunities to retrain for new skills so they can be re-employed in other sectors.
Giving this assurance yesterday, Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong told reporters: "This Seagate announcement is also a stark reminder to all of us that the economic challenges are still there. We must not be prematurely optimistic."
The affected workers, however, need not be disheartened as there are still 25,000 jobs available in the market.
Declining to say whether there would be a possible second wave of retrenchments in Singapore, Mr Gan nonetheless stressed the growing importance of helping workers tap the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur).
Seven months since the scheme began, more have taken advantage of it. As at end-July, 159,000 workers and 2,200 companies have committed to Spur, revealed Mr Gan.
He was speaking at the National Day Observance ceremony organised by the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees Union and ST Aerospace - which, Mr Gan noted, as of last month had sent some 1,012 professionals, managers, executives and technicians and 74 non-PMETs for Spur training.
"We will not be able to avoid retrenchment altogether," said Mr Gan. "We will not be able to avoid companies restructuring altogether. But we want to minimise the number of people affected, keep as many jobs as possible in Singapore by keeping the companies competitive and helping them cut costs."
- Channel News Asia
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