Saigon High Tech Park adjusts operations, maintains most jobs despite COVID-19
Stabilising operations, attracting investment and achieving set goals has become a difficult task for Saigon Hi-Tech Park amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but the park has so far achieved mostly positive results.
Stabilising operations, attracting investment and achieving set goals has become a difficult task for Saigon Hi-Tech Park amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but the park has so far achieved mostly positive results.
Danish-invested Sonion Vietnam Co Ltd, an electronics manufacturer in Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP), for example, has reorganised production by reducing operating capacity and decreasing the number of defective products.
Jason King, Sonion Vietnam’s general director, said the company would quickly restore full operation and compensate for the productivity shortage as soon as the Government brings the new COVID-19 outbreak under control.
Other businesses in SHTP are also making efforts to stabilise operations, and consider it an urgent task, according to the SHTP Management Board.
During the first outbreak in April, according to the recommendations of the Management Board, the city’s People's Committee allowed enterprises in the SHTP, including the two largest factories, Intel Product Vietnam Co Ltd, Samsung Co Ltd to continue operation without interruption, with proper social distancing.
Thanks to efforts to maintain operations, SHTP's production value in the first six months of 2020 reached US$9.397 billion, up 18.8 per cent over the same period and 46.9 per cent of the year’s goal.
Of the figure, export value was $8.8 billion, an increase of 23.7 per cent, and import value was $8.49 billion, up by 7.5 per cent over the same period.
Le Bich Loan, deputy director of the SHTP Management Board, said the park authority was working with companies to solve their problems and facilitate production.
“After this second outbreak is over, production demand will increase sharply and workers will have to work overtime. We have asked the Prime Minister for permission to extend overtime hours for workers,” Loan said.
According to HCM City’s Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, businesses normally are asked to prove that they need to increase working hours due to a sudden increase in orders. However, in the current context, an increase could be allowed because of reasons beyond our control, she said.
Despite the grim situation, the production value of foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises in SHTP in the first quarter exceeded $4 billion, up 19.3 per cent year-on-year, equivalent to 20 per cent of the yearly plan.
No job losses have occurred at the hi-tech park. More than 45,600 employees at the park still have jobs, but about 1,950 employees have had to take leave due to work rotations or raw material shortages. Loan said businesses had reached an agreement with these workers to let them return to work after the current outbreak ends. VNS
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