JAKARTA: Twenty companies in the Tangerang municipality have stopped operations due to the slow business over the past few years, causing 36,108 people to lose their jobs, an official said.

Adang Turwana, head of the municipality manpower office, was quoted by Antara as saying on Wednesday, that another 30 companies were experiencing financial difficulties and could also stop operating.

The 50 companies, producers mainly of items exported to foreign countries, had suffered greatly. The condition worsened because of the labor demonstrations that resulted in their low productivity and failure to compete in the free market, Adang said.

Currently, there are about 1,500 companies in the Tangerang municipality. --JP