Hundreds of timber workers quit

AMBON, Maluku: At least 419 employees of PT Mangole Timber Producer have quit citing mental trauma following a powerful earthquake that shook the remote island of Mangole on Nov. 19, Antara said.

"For sure, the company has fulfilled its obligation to the 419 workers," its manager, Effendy Louhenapessy, said on Monday.

He said the company had not laid off any workers despite the huge losses it suffered from the quake, which measured 6.5 on the Richter scale.

The remaining 3,670 workers are still employed to clean the company's facilities and residential areas, he said.

More than 30 people were killed in the quake which also destroyed dozens of houses, four plywood mills, school buildings, mosques and churches.