The Impact Of The Pandemic And PPKM In East Java, Dozens Of Companies Lay 7 Thousand Workers To Layoffs

SURABAYA - Dozens of companies in East Java chose to lay off their employees until they were laid off, due to the PPKM policy.

Based on data from the East Java Manpower and Transmigration Office (Disnakertrans), a total of 7,167 workers were laid off and 170 employees were laid off, since the implementation of Emergency PPKM/level 4 from July to August 2021.

"A total of 7,167 workers have been laid off without salary, spread over 29 critical and essential companies, as well as 80 non-essential companies," said Head of the East Java Manpower and Transmigration Office, Himawan Estu Bagijo, confirmed on Friday, August 13.

According to Himawan, the company has experienced production and other constraints since the Emergency PPKM, which has an impact on the company's income.

Meanwhile, companies that lay off employees occurred in five business sectors, namely the footwear industry, the hotel industry, tourism, entertainment venues, and places to eat. "Especially for employees who have been laid off, there are 107 people," he said.

In addition, there are also companies that still employ employees to survive, by reducing the salaries of employees. This strategy is carried out in 29 critical business sectors, 43 essential businesses, and 29 non-essential businesses.

"In total, there are more than 7,000 employees who continue to work, but their salaries are not full or reduced according to the company's ability," he said.

While the companies that chose to close since the implementation of the Emergency PPKM, Himawan said there were 12 companies in the essential sector, nine companies in the critical sector, and 30 non-essential companies.

"Regarding this condition, we have reported it to the Ministry of Manpower (Kemenaker), to be used as a reference for data on the provision of social assistance," he said.