224,800 workers in Singapore affected by cost-cutting measures

224,800 employees were affected by cost-cutting measures notified by 6,300 firms between March and July, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) revealed.

In its weekly jobs situation report on August 20, the MOM said that local employees made up slightly less than half of the total of those who were affected.

The MOM also revealed that the three most common cost-cutting measures are adjustments to monthly salary components, no-pay leave and shorter work weeks.

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Also, about half of the affected workers are from three sectors: 52,600 employees from accommodation and food services, 42,000 from construction, and 23,800 from the wholesale and retail trade.

A tripartite advisory on managing excess manpower and responsible retrenchments was updated in March that requires employers to notify MOM if cost-cutting measures taken have affected workers’ salaries.

“As some employers have submitted multiple notifications to update on their cost-saving measures, the employer and employee counts are not unique,” MOM said.

“Employers have generally been responsible and implemented cost-saving measures fairly. Cost-saving measures, as outlined in the tripartite advisory, are recommended alternatives to retrenchments, which should be the last resort for employers.

“However, job losses will still happen with the mounting pressure on businesses due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” the ministry added.