THE Trade Union Congress of the Philippines yesterday identified 65 large
companies it described as being "extremely vulnerable" to worker layoffs
resulting from the global economic crisis.

Most of the companies have already implemented some "changes" in their
workforce, said TUCP secretary general Ernesto Herrera.

"Many of these firms have already begun laying-off workers, are about to
retrench personnel, or have already asked their staff to report for work on a
rotating basis, for shorter periods," said Herrera, former senator.

These firms, he added, mostly belong to the industry of manufacturing
semiconductor devices and other electronics components; computers, computer
peripheral equipment and accessories; TV and radio transmitters and receivers;
and sound or video recording or reproducing apparatus, and associated goods.

Herrera said majority of the companies are located in special economic zones.

The 65 "vulnerable" firms are: Texas Instruments (Phils.) Inc., NXP
Semiconductors Philippines Inc., Rohm Electronics Philippines Inc., Intel
Technology Philippines Inc., Epson Imaging Devices (Phils.) Inc., NXP
Semiconductors Cabuyao Inc., Sam sung Electro-Mechanics Philippines Corp.,
Ibiden Philippines Inc., Sanyo Semiconductor Manufacturing Philippines Corp.;

Shin Heung Electro Digital Inc., San Technology Inc., Analog Devices Gen.
Trias Inc., Ionics EMS Inc., Nikko Materials Philippines Inc., SIIX Logistics
Philippines Inc., Pricon Micro-Electronics Inc., Dyna Image Corp. Philippines ,
First Sumiden Circuits Inc., Cypress Manufacturing Ltd., Fujitsu Die-Tech Corp.
of the Philippines , Vishay (Phils.) Inc. and SB Flex Philippines Inc.;

Allegro Microsystems Philippines Inc., Katolec Philippines Corp., Fairchild
Semiconductor (Phils.) Inc., MD Tech Phils. Inc., Fuji Electric Philippines Inc.
, Daeduck Philippines Inc., ON Semiconductor Philippines Inc., Nanox
Philippines Inc., Sanyo Capacitor (Phils.) Corp., Rohm Mechatech Philippines
Inc., P. Imes Corp., NEC TOKIN Electronics (Phils.) Inc., Tong Hsing
Electronics Phils. Inc., Poongsan Microtec Philippines Inc.;

AMI Semiconductor Philippines Inc., ISPL (Phils.) Inc., Orient Semiconductor
Electronics Philippines Inc., Yu Jin Optical Electronics Inc., PerkinElmer
Optoelectronics Philippines Inc., Analog Devices (Phils.) Inc., SMK Electronics
(Phils.) Corp., Toshiba Information Equipment (Phils.) Inc. and Panasonic
Communications Philippines Corp.;

Fujitsu Computer Products Corp. of the Philippines , Sam sung Electronics
Philippines Manufacturing Corp., TDK Fujitsu Philippines Corp., Hitachi Global
Storage Technologies Philippines Corp., Wistron Infocomm (Phils.) Corp.,
Calamba Shinei Industry Philippines Corp.; Hoya Glass Disk Philippines Inc.,
Mistumi Philippines Inc., Nidec Subic Philippines Corp., Sanyo Denki
Philippines Inc.;

Shindengen Philippines Corp., Aikawa Philippines Inc., Trends and Technologies
Inc., Fujitsu Ten Corp. of the Philippines , Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines
Corp., Sony Philippines Inc., Sharp (Phils.) Corp., Muramoto Audio-Visual
Philippines Inc., and Clarion Manufacturing Corp. of the Philippines and Nippon
Antenna (Phils.) Inc.

The TUCP asked the labor department to provide assistance not only to
displaced overseas Filipino workers but also to local employees who lost their
jobs.
Assistance, according to Herrera, should include six months of emergency
unemployment loans from the Social Security System, extra child support
insurance for those with at least one toddler, additional direct cash transfers
from DOLE and/or the Department of Social Welfare and Development, preferential
treatment of their children in the grant of school tuition subsidy or
government scholarships and skills retooling programs to help them find new
employment elsewhere. - Gerard Naval

GLOBAL FINANCIAL UPDATE

The news these days is bad and getting worse.

Since the Global Financial Meltdown that started in late 2008 in the United States, the reports in the newspapers have just been
about company shutdowns, bankruptcy filings, manpower lay-offs, reduced work days, salary freeze or decrement, for sheer survival to stay afloat.

It was previously thought that the Philippines would be spared because of its poorer economic state, but it is not so.

The country’s semiconductor and electronics sectors are seriously battered, as with other parts of the world.

Just read below the adverse developments of the following firms, among others:

1. Andes - 8 days a month work or 2 days a week
2. Temic, closed its plants in Germany and Poland and retrenched people in the Philippines. Now on a 4 days, 2 shifts
3. NEC Tokin – from thousands of employees to just 700 today, 1 week per month plant shut down
4. *Yazaki Torres – 2 days a week*
5. *Fujitsu – zero OT, 4 days a week*
6. Amkor anam – separated 700 people including indirects, applied for another 2000 reduction with DOLE
7. *IBIDEN in FPIP – closing down*
8. TDK – 2 days a week
9. Wistron – laid off 1000 workers
10. *Toshiba – closed down 3 out of 6 assembly lines*
11. *IMI retrenched 20% of its work force, this is believed to be in thousands.*
12. PSI – 4 days work week
13. Miyoshi – 5 days, 2 shifts
14. Maxim – 5 days, 2 shifts
15. Accenture – laid off 500 people
16. Advantec – laid off 100 people and will close in June to transfer to China
17. Google Philippines laid off people too
18. *Per Inquirer dated 21 Jan 2009, 35,000 workers had already been displaced in the PEZA zones*
19. Globally, Microsoft is laying off 15,000 worldwide.
20. Citigroup, British Telecom, Volvo, DHL, Ford, DBS, AT&T, others had laid off tens of thousands of workers
21. *Intel closed its plant in the Philippines after 35 years. 1800 people laid off.*

:( :( I hope makarecover ta this year ba....pangamuyo lang ta tanan ah! :worthy:

Tani makabawi guid tood mig... pero ang forecast is 2nd Qtr of 2010 pa ma-"start" ang recovery sa financial systems worldwide and eventually other sectors which rely on the financial sector

medyo mabudlay ang 2009.... iwas gastos lang anay ah.... :(