GEORGE TOWN: Another wave of retrenchments has apparently hit Penang’s manufacturing sector, with a sudden announcement to over 200 employees that they are out of jobs.
Business Times has obtained a memo purportedly sent out this afternoon by TS Solartech Sdn Bhd - a subsidiary of Tek Seng Holdings Bhd - that some of its employees will be out of work as early as tomorrow.
TS Solartech is a mainland Penang-based crystalline silicon solar cell maker in which Taiwan-based Solartech Energy holds a 42 per cent stake.
The memo dated today, and signed by two of the company’s officials named Choo Pei Ting and Lim Li Ming respectively, is titled `Retrenchment Programme.’
“We regret to inform you that due to redundancy of productivity, there will be a retrenchment programme for surplus workers,” the memo stated and referred to a list of affected workers which was reportedly attached to the document.
“It does not involve those staff who have tendered their resignation and resigned before this memo was released. However, this decision is a not a reflection on your performance,” it added.
The selected staff were instructed in the memo that tomorrow would be their last day at work and to present themselves to the company’s human resources department to collect their letters of indemnity and letters of retrenchment on Wednesday.
Those affected were also advised they were not to present themselves for work tomorrow.
Company officials could not be reached for comment.
Two weeks ago, US-based Rubicon Technology Inc announced that it is closing down its facility - Rubicon Sapphire Technology (M) Sdn Bhd - on mainland Penang.
It is learnt that some 180 people will be jobless owing to the closure by the end of this year.
In July, it was reported that American hard disk maker Seagate Technology Plc and computer data storage firm Western Digital Corp (WD), would be relocating the bulk of their operations to Thailand.
Seagate's Penang facility is said to have over 3,000 Malaysian staff, while WD was expected to lay off 400 Malaysian staff and 800 foreign workers from its Penang manufacturing site.
Earlier this year, the world's biggest chipmaker Intel Technology, had announced that it would lay off up to 12,000 workers globally.
Business Times has learnt the exercise in Malaysia has so far seen around 1,000 employees in Penang and Kulim in Kedah part ways with Intel.