Said Iqbal: Negotiations Underway Over Potential Layoffs in Automotive Component Industry

Presidential Special Adviser for Employment and Worker Welfare, Said Iqbal, has stated that negotiations are still underway between trade unions and management following the potential for layoffs at two automotive component companies in East Java. Speaking on the sidelines of the 2026 National Working Meeting of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers’ Unions (KSPI) in Jakarta on Tuesday, Said Iqbal said approximately 4,000 workers in Pasuruan and Mojokerto, East Java, are at risk of redundancy due to plans by the two firms to shift their production lines from Indonesia to Vietnam. “It is indeed quite large (the potential for layoffs), but if we can convince them, the principals in Japan, the possibility of moving to Vietnam will not happen,” he said. “Because this has not yet occurred, the relocation is not that easy. They say the possibility is one to two years from now. That means we still have time to negotiate,” he added. Said Iqbal declined to name the two companies, identifying them only by the initials PT J and PT S, which he said have parent companies in Japan. He revealed that PT J currently employs around 7,000 workers, with 4,000 of them potentially affected by layoffs. “Indeed, the possibility is still just talk, just talk about 4,000 (workers). But I am not so sure about 4,000, because this is still just talk. Usually management takes a high call, maybe thousands, but 4,000 is unlikely,” he said. In a separate occasion, Minister of Manpower Yassierli said the government is ready to find a middle ground in resolving the issue. “One by one, later, case by case, each case has different handling. Some we push for bipartite first, some we then have to visit, some we have to summon the management, and so on. It will be case by case,” said Yassierli.