Apindo Wants Quality Economic Growth, Not Just Numbers

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.TV - Head of the Labour Affairs Division at the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), Bob Azam, said that the association wants quality economic growth, not just numbers.

Bob made the statement in response to a question about whether the business world is not feeling the impact of Indonesia’s economic growth, which, according to the first quarter 2026 report, reached 5.61 percent.

“Actually, we have been saying for a long time that we want quality economic growth. So, it’s not just about the numbers, but also about the impact, including job creation,” he said in the Kompas Bisnis program on Kompas TV, Friday (15/5/2026).

He also reminded that we should not overreact to layoffs, because layoffs are actually a mechanism to achieve efficiency.

“We shouldn’t overreact to layoffs. In fact, layoffs are a mechanism to achieve efficiency, in order to maintain the company so that it doesn’t collapse,” he said.

“In fact, layoffs should be mitigated by providing protection to those who are laid off, and preparing new jobs for the future for those who are laid off, so that after being laid off, they can quickly find new jobs,” he said.

According to him, this is the best protection for workers, rather than keeping them from being laid off, which could cause the company to collapse.

“So, what is actually more important here is how to develop an economy that creates a lot of jobs, where the manufacturing sector is the sector that creates the most jobs and contributes the most to the country’s economy,” he concluded.

Source: Kompas TV

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