Acer cuts 700 jobs in KL

Acer cuts 700 jobs in KL

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) Taiwan's leading computer maker Acer has cut 700 of it 2,300 workforce and paid out one million ringgit (US$263 million) in benefits amid tough business conditions, a report said Friday.

C.Y. Ho, managing director of the Acer Technologies Sdn. Bhd. in the northern state of Penang, described the retrenchment as "painful," saying it was the first undertaken by the company and hopefully the last.

The decision was taken as a last resort and the company had since April restructured operations to reduce costs by freezing overtime and recruitment, he said.

"It is a painful decison because demand for our products had gone down by almost 30 percent," he was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper.

Acer has been operating in Penang for 10 years.

Retrenched workers were paid a maximum of two months' salary in lieu of notice, a month's salary for each year of service, a month's bonus and 50 ringgit transport allowance.

The retrenched workers were mainly from the production line and included 350 Indonesians.