5,280 Singaporeans retrenched in first half of 2020: Josephine Teo

IN THE first half of 2020, 5,280 Singapore citizens were retrenched, said Manpower Minister Josephine Teo in Parliament on Friday, responding to a question from Workers' Party MP He Ting Ru.

In the first half of the year, there were also 11,000 citizens affected by temporary layoffs, compared to 33,000 non-citizens.

Earlier figures released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) showed overall retrenchments - including citizens and non-citizens - of 6,700 in the second quarter and 3,220 in the first quarter.

Ms He had also asked about Singaporeans who have seen pay cuts of more than 50 per cent since the start of "circuit-breaker" measures. Mrs Teo replied that under the MOM's reporting regime for cost-savings measures taken by employers, there is no distinction made between citizens and non-citizens.

But based on notifications received up to Aug 20, pay reductions of more than 50 per cent form a "small minority", she said.