Wing Tai retrenches 20 staff in retail restructuring

Singapore

WING Tai Retail has retrenched 20 employees, following a review of its business operations which began late last year.

The 20 staff - who account for less than one per cent of its retail headcount - received a compensation package and a one-time grant to upgrade their skills for future opportunities, the company said.

In response to queries from The Business Times, a spokeswoman for Wing Tai Retail said: "Wing Tai Retail consulted the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees' Union (SISEU) on its business restructuring exercise, working closely with the union to manage a process to ensure fair treatment and compensation packages for employees affected in some roles which have ceased to exist. Added effort was made to assist affected employees to facilitate smooth transitions into their next jobs."

She added that the retail group will review its store distribution following the restructuring.

The retail arm of Wing Tai Holdings represents 15 key brands and operates over 200 retail stores in Singapore and Malaysia.

Its list of brands include Topshop, Uniqlo, G2000 and Adidas.

SISEU, together with NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), plans to help affected employees in areas such as job searching, career coaching and employability training.

Sylvia Choo, executive secretary of SISEU, said: "Our key priority is to ensure that our workers are treated fairly. More importantly, we will also continue to work together with the relevant training and placement partners such as e2i to ensure that affected employees are able to smoothly transition into their next jobs. We also urge more workers to join the union so that we can come in to provide assistance, should and when the need arises."

For the financial year ended June 30, 2019, retail accounted for nearly 42 per cent of Wing Tai Holdings' topline of S$322.6 million.

For the six months ended Dec 31, 2019, Wing Tai Holdings' net profit was 79 per cent higher year-on-year at S$32.82 million, while revenue slid 5 per cent to S$183.5 million.

Shares in Wing Tai Holdings closed at S$1.95 on Friday, down five Singapore cents.