Wow! 84 Thousand Shopping Center Workers Are Threatened With Layoffs If PPKM Continues

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Tens of thousands of shopping center workers are threatened with being laid off if the restrictions on community activities (PPKM) continue. Moreover, during PPKM all shopping centers cannot operate. This makes the company's cash flow or cash flow disrupted.

Chairman of the Indonesian Shopping Center Management Association (APPBI) Alphonzus Widjaja said that although the shopping center was closed, operational costs still had to be paid. He said, in addition to the cost of employee salaries, the biggest expense is electricity.

Therefore, said Alphonzus, one way to reduce operational costs, shopping centers can only perform efficiency in terms of human resources (HR). Because, shopping centers are a bit difficult to negotiate with PLN to be able to remove the minimum electricity consumption.

Currently, said Alphonzus, APPBI members throughout Indonesia have approximately 350 shopping centers. Of the number of shopping centers, the total number of employees is about 280 thousand people. However, this does not include tenant workers who work in shops and so on.

"Based on experience, efficiency in shopping centers can only be a maximum of 30 percent. Even though they are closed, there must be a minimum of workers that must be maintained. So the maximum efficiency is 30 percent. The potential for being laid off or being laid off is 30 percent multiplied by 280 thousand, which means approximately 84 thousand, " he said in a virtual discussion, Tuesday, July 27.

According to Alphonzus, during the Emergency PPKM there were several stages of efficiency for workers carried out by shopping center entrepreneurs. The first is to lay off workers while still paying full salaries.

However, said Alphonzus, if the government continues to extend the PPKM, it will enter phase two where employees are laid off but their salaries are only partially paid.

"Currently phase one has been carried out a lot, this is an extension of the PPKM until August 2, if this is continued, it will likely enter the second phase. Due to moving months, the salary is a new period.

Furthermore, said Alphonzus, if the restrictions on community activities through PPKM continue to drag on, then whether you like it or not, shopping center entrepreneurs must take the third step or the last stage of efficiency, namely termination of employment or layoffs.

"If it continues to drag on, we will enter stage three. This is the final stage, what we don't really want is layoffs. This is the last option. This is the stage like that," he said.