JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian Employers' Association (APINDO) Shinta Kamdani assessed that the number of victims of layoffs (PHK) in Indonesia was very worrying.
The Ministry of Manpower noted that the total number of workers affected by layoffs reached 24,036 people from January to April 2025.
Minister of Manpower Yassierli said that this figure was greater than the same period last year (year to year/YoY), which was 77,965 people who were laid off throughout 2024.
"Currently, around 24,000 (24,036 people) have been recorded. So it's more than a third of 2024. So if someone asks about the current year-to-year layoffs compared to last year, it will increase," Yassierli said in a working meeting with Commission IX of the DPR RI at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Central Jakarta, Monday (5/5/2025).
Meanwhile, APINDO Chairman Shinta Kamdani also said that the number of layoff victims in Indonesia was very worrying. According to BPJS Ketenagakerjaan data, as many as 257,471 participants have stopped participating because they were laid off. That is still added by 154,010 participants to claim JHT BPJS TK due to layoffs in 2024.
Since last year, news of layoffs has barely stopped decorating news. One by one large companies announced employee downsizing.
Sritex's mass layoffs in early 2025 became the attention of many people. The textile giant from Sukoharjo laid off around 11,025 workers due to bankruptcy. Indeed, there have been rumors of new investors, but until now there are still thousands of workers who previously depend on the company's life is now missing.
Launching Goodstats, Central Java dominated the national layoffs until April 2025, which was 10,692 workers. Then followed by Jakarta with 4,649 workers, and Riau with 3,546 workers.
The layoff storm hit almost all sectors, from the textile and garment, technology and banking industries. Recently, the layoff storm has also plagued the media industry, from Kompas TV, CNN Indonesia, to the MNC Group. According to a number of sources, the media laid off about 750 workers. Several other media are even reportedly planning to close the office.
Macroeconomic and micro Islamist expert at Muhammadiyah University Surakarta (UMS) Dr. Agung Riyadi, S.E., MSI said, this cross-sectoral layoff must be seen more deeply, especially from a microeconomic perspective which he calls economic accounting logic.
Not only because of the slowdown in the national economy. This can also be the result of competition between regions in attracting investment, wrong labor policy, and even the impact of expectations on global conflicts such as the trade war triggered by Donald Trump," said the development economy lecturer, citing the UMS website.
In the framework of economic accounting, the logic of business people in maintaining profits even though income decreases, often encourages them to cut explicit costs, including labor.
Agung gave an example of calculations such as when business income decreased from IDR 400 million to IDR 300 million, labor costs could be reduced from IDR 120 million to IDR 60 million.
"The goal is to keep the net profit of Rp. 30 million. But the impact, of course, is layoffs," he said.
This logic, said Agung, could actually be changed if business people wanted to reduce implicit costs, for example by reducing the profit or salary of business owners by around 30 percent. So, the number of layoffs can be minimized.
Meanwhile, from an external perspective, Agung highlighted that the national economic slowdown factor had an impact on mass layoffs. It could also be other factors, such as competition in the economic zone, the impact and expectations on Donald Trump's trade war, to labor policy errors (generally and regarding low-cost wage policies).
If it is associated with an area, for example Central Java, what happens is regional competition to attract investment. For example, Central Java competes with East Java and West Java to attract foreign investment," said Agung.
Regions that win in competition, he said, are regions in an area that serve investors as well as possible through infrastructure policies, provision of labor, and no illegal levies so that the company runs efficiently.
While the regions that lose competition are regions whose policies fail to keep investors and factories closed.
"Not only the external side, the internal pressure is even more complicated," continued Agung.
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The classic reasons that arise most often include losses or company closures, operational efficiency due to high logistics costs, swelling energy rates, internal restructuring, corporate relocation, and bankruptcy financial conditions causing companies to lose competitiveness.
In the midst of a wave of layoffs, the state should not be silent. According to Agung, there are a number of solutions that need to be handled by the central and regional governments. First, infrastructure and the employment system must be strengthened in order to be able to create a healthy business climate, as well as eradicate illegal levies.
Second, supporting the growth of ideal trade unions as partners in creating fair industrial relations. Third, ideal public goods management policies are needed.
"Fourth, the availability of sufficient and sustainable welfare funds does not depend on short-term social assistance programs," he said.
"Finally, the economic accounting logic held by business people needs to be shifted, from simply maintaining profit margins to taking sides with human values," Agung concluded.
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