News Forum - Labour Minister confirms 300 jobs axed by Shopee Thailand

[Thaiger]

The Labour Minister, Suchart Chomklin, confirmed yesterday’s report on the Shopee redundancies was accurate. He says 300 jobs are being axed, but insisted the Labour Ministry would help ensure sacked workers are looked after in accordance to employment legislation. The Singaporean company Sea announced during a town hall meeting yesterday of the planned layoff for one of its core businesses, e-commerce platform Shopee. The company stated that many workers in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, would be affected. The report also confirmed that half of all Thai workers employed by ShopeeFood and ShopeePay had already been released. Suchart […]

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[Chatogaster]

47 minutes ago, Thaiger said:

 

The minister says he has assigned the relevant Labour Ministry departments to monitor the situation closely and recommend available positions to those now unemployed. Suchart added that anyone who wanted a career change or improve their skills could also inquire about suitable training from the ministry.

The Director-General of the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare, Niyom Songkaew, added that employees who couldn’t claim the compensation or any benefits stated in the law should contact the department

 

 

It all sounds very nice, but content-wise it triggers a face palm for its vagueness: 

1. "monitor closely" → "I see it happening"
2. "recommend alternatives" → "I recommend you go find another job"
3. "open to inquires to find training" → "I hear you, perhaps you want to enlist in this or that school?"

4. Final issue: what is that lawful compensation and what are the lawful benefits that ex-employees have a right to? Without that knowledge, it's hard to claim them.

PS: the onContext-click on the Thaiger website has been broken since the last major overhaul (it was caused by minor yet silly mistake). Today's release (which converted <A>'s into <DIV>'s) managed to make things even worse. Amazing!
 

 

[JJJ]

2 hours ago, Chatogaster said:

It all sounds very nice, but content-wise it triggers a face palm for its vagueness: 

1. "monitor closely" → "I see it happening"
2. "recommend alternatives" → "I recommend you go find another job"
3. "open to inquires to find training" → "I hear you, perhaps you want to enlist in this or that school?"

4. Final issue: what is that lawful compensation and what are the lawful benefits that ex-employees have a right to? Without that knowledge, it's hard to claim them.

PS: the onContext-click on the Thaiger website has been broken since the last major overhaul (it was caused by minor yet silly mistake). Today's release (which converted <A>'s into <DIV>'s) managed to make things even worse. Amazing!
 

The labor laws are very clear about notice, severance, and welfare and company employees know them well. Unless the employment contract is different it’s usually 30 days notice and 1 or 2 months severance.  There’s nothing for the Labor Ministry to do so who knows why he’s even talking  

Shopee is a publicly traded company in the United States (Sea). While it’s harsh, big layoffs like this across multiple countries is probably material public information so it all needs to be announced once in public. 

If you’re Thai and worked for Shopee’s company office, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of opportunities.