One of Vietnam's biggest shoe makers, which produces for Nike and Adidas among others, is to lay off 6,000 workers due to falling orders, local authorities said.
Some 3,000 employees of Pouyuen Vietnam, owned by Taiwanese Pou Chen, will lose their jobs at the end of February, and 3,000 others will not have their contracts renewed, according to a document from the Ho Chi city's labor department. Minh-Ville, of which AFP obtained a copy on Monday.
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The authorities mentioned “
a very weak order book in 2023
”.
Vietnam, one of the world's largest exporters of textiles, shoes and furniture, is suffering from the cost of living crisis affecting its Western customers, who consume less than before.
Pouyuen is the largest employer in Ho Chiinh City, the economic capital of the south of the country, with nearly 50,000 employees.
The announcement, which was shared with the union representing the workforce, “
is due to be made to affected workers on February 25
,” the document said.
The workers will continue to be paid until they receive unemployment benefits, according to the authorities.
These layoffs come after Pouyuen forced 20,000 workers on forced leave at the end of last year, by rotation, to share the little work to be done.
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More than 630,000 people lost their jobs or saw their working hours reduced in 2022, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor.
In the last quarter of 2022, orders from the United States fell by around 30 to 40%, and by 60% for Europe, compared to the previous year, according to the Vietnamese Confederation of Labor.