3,230 layoffs in Singapore in Q1 2019, up from the previous quarter and year

A total 3,230 employees were retrenched in Singapore in the first quarter of 2019, up from the previous quarter (2,510) and a year ago (2,320). This increase was driven by the manufacturing (from 380 to 1,040), of which the most affected were production & related workers from the electronics sector.

As a result, electronics formed 18% of retrenchments in the first quarter of 2019, followed by services industries such as wholesale trade (16%) and transportation & storage (10%), as confirmed by Ministry of Manpower's Labour Market Report First Quarter 2019.

The key reasons for the layoffs? Restructuring and reorganisation. However, there was also a rise in the share of retrenchments from the previous quarter due to high costs and downturn in the industry.

Among retrenched residents, professionals, managers, executives & technicians (PMETs) continued to make up the majority (69%), as they form a higher share of the workforce.

Profile Of Retrenched Residents, First Quarter 2019

All images / MOM