Job cuts, reduced hours hit nearly 510,000 Vietnamese workers

Over half a million employees in Vietnam lost their jobs or had their work hours cut in the first five months of this year, said Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung on Monday.

Of the total, 280,000 people quit their jobs or were laid off, accounting for 54.79%, he told legislators during the ongoing session of the National Assembly.

They were mainly working in localities with large industrial parks and economic zones, such as Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City in the south, and Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong and Hanoi in the north.

The textile and garment industry saw the largest numbers of workers laid off or having their hours cut, with 70,000 and 66,600, respectively. It was followed by leather and footwear, with 31,600 and 66,000; and manufacturing of electronic components and products, with 45,000 and 24,800.

The number of unpaid workers reached 17,000, with the textile and garment industry again taking the lead with nearly 5,000.

More than 8,600 businesses had to cut staff, of which 27% were foreign-invested enterprises while the rest were domestic private companies. The most affected region was the southeast, accounting for nearly two thirds of the total, while 12% of the enterprises were based in the Red River Delta region.

Untrained workers made up the largest proportion of job cuts at 68%.

Minister Dung attributed the cuts to a lack of orders, difficulties in foreign economies, high inflation, and tightened monetary policy that has resulted in declining purchasing power, especially for clothing, shoes and personal electronic devices.

Many businesses had reported huge inventories while there were no new orders, he added.

According to Dung, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has implemented policies to support workers who had lost their jobs or had their hours cut like free recruitment consultancy, vocational training support, preferential credit, and expanding beneficiaries of the National Employment Fund.

To assist laid-off workers, Dung said his ministry will consider amending the unemployment insurance policy and effectively support them to access preferential loans from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies.

Earlier, Dang Xuan Phuong, deputy head of the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture, Education, Adolescents and Children, said that as the Vietnamese economy is forecast to continue facing difficulties, the government should ask businesses to limit production expansion and avoid mass layoffs.

"The government needs to guide enterprises to allow employees to work in rotation and limit sudden layoffs that negatively affect workers' lives," he said.