MORE than 50,000 employees are expected to be laid off this year, reported The Sun.

The English daily quoted Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan as saying manufacturing would be the main sector affected, followed by the services (insurance, banking and retail) and construction sectors.

He said among the challenges facing the job market were the levy imposed on employers for the hiring of foreign workers and the Employee Insurance Scheme.

“The increase in maternity leave days, from 60 days to 90 days, as well as the possibility of paternity leave, will also be factors.”

The report said automation would continue to be another factor for job losses as more companies turned to robotics and information technology.

“Multinational corporations involved in labour-intensive industries are also leaving due to higher wage costs in Malaysia,” said Shamsuddin.

“They are moving to more attractive and lower-labour-cost nations, where there are no high social costs.”

He said Cambodia and Laos were among the countries where wages were below US$100 (RM402.59) per month, whereas in Malaysia, they were about US$250.

Malaysian Trades Union Congress president Abdul Halim Mansor was quoted as saying that based on information from the Labour Department, between 30,000 and 50,000 people could be retrenched this year, involving those from the finance, construction and manufacturing sectors. – January 4, 2018.