CMO, Wintek Cut Workforce to Cope With Business Downturn

Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (CMO), the second largest thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panel manufacturer in Taiwan, recently announced its layoff of temporary employees, perhaps sparking more layoffs in the flat panel display sector.

Wintek Corp, another major supplier of small/medium-sized panels, also laid off about 600 permanent line workers recently.

CMO clarified that less than the reported 3,000 temps had been let go, but the company would continue cutting staff to weather the downturn.

About 200,000 people work for the island`s FPD line and industry insiders said planned layoffs are expected to impact the domestic employment market.

The sources said that CMO has about 17,000 permanent workers who are not expected to be let go.

Hyley Huang, Chairman and President of Wintek, said that his company has cut over 600 or about 10 percent of employees to survive the downturn.

No one can predict with certainty the end of the recession, Huang said, and all executives at Wintek have had their pay cut by 30 percent and required to take leave without pay.

HannStar Display Corp, another panel maker, said it has very few temps after closing its LCD module (LCM) plant in Kaohsiung, and is considering cutting executive salaries as well as asking staff to take leave without pay.

Source: CENS