CJ Logistics Asia retrenches 33 S'pore IT staff, affected employees to get 2 weeks' salary per year of service

South Korea-headquartered logistics firm CJ Logistics Asia will retrench its 33-man Singapore IT department as it migrates its data centre to the cloud and offshores its operation to a team in Vietnam.

Affected employees were informed during a town hall with the firm's Chief Information Officer (CIO) on Mar. 24, who explained that the move comes amidst challenges to the firm's global business.

Growth challenges

During the town hall, the affected employees were informed that the Singapore IT team would become redundant following the data centre migration.

This move was borne out of growth challenges in the company's global business, the CIO told affected employees.

One employee, Alex (not his real name), told Mothership that CJ Logistics' entire Singapore operation is made up of about 200 employees, and the IT department has about 33 staff.

The retrenchment will take place in batches in April, June, August and October.

The local IT team has also been asked to assist with the handover.

Retrenchment package

As part of the retrenchment package, affected employees were initially offered a compensation of one to three months' salary, based on number of years of service.

This offer was later negotiated to two weeks' salary per year of service, which Alex said he would accept, and believes that the other affected employees would accept too.

They will also be given a pro-rated Annual Wage Supplement (AWS) bonus, as well as a handover bonus.

According to the Ministry of Manpower's guideline, the prevailing compensation norm varies between two weeks' to one month's salary per year of service, depending on the financial position of the company and taking into consideration the industry norm.

In unionised companies with the quantum of retrenchment benefit stipulated in the collective agreement, the norm is one month's salary per year of service.

Mothership has reached out to CJ Logistics Asia for comments.

Union will provide assistance and resources when required

Responding to Mothership's queries, Nur Azarudin Putra, Executive Secretary of the Supply Chain Employees' Union (SCEU), said that CJ Logistics is a non-unionised company in Singapore.

However, there are employees who are members of the SCEU.

SCEU also understands that some CJ Logistics Asia employees have reached out to the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) to seek assistance regarding their employment matters with the company.

"Where union members in non-unionised companies face employment-related challenges, including retrenchments, NTUC's affiliated unions or associations will extend assistance to these members," Nur Azarudin Putra said.

SCEU is currently reaching out to affected union members to understand more about the situation and said it will provide assistance and resources when required.

These include connecting them to the labour movement's network, such as NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i).

Affected union members and workers who are facing salary arrears or other employment-related issues may approach SCEU for assistance at 62138112 or via email [email protected].

Affected workers can also access NTUC's Guide on Navigating Retrenchment for essential information on navigating retrenchment processes.

Eligible workers who are Singaporeans or Permanent Residents can also receive more employment support through the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme, Nur Azarudin Putra said.

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