Jollibee says it supports gov't campaign vs. 'endo'

Jollibee Foods Corp. on Wednesday said it supports the government stance on 'endo' or the practice of hiring employees on contractual basis without any assurance of getting regular employment.

"With respect to the new regulations on labor, Jollibee Foods Corporation has been taking proactive steps to adapt to the changing requirements," it said in a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange.

"JFC aims to turn evolving labor regulations in the country as opportunities to make its organization and business even stronger," it said.

Early this month, Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III ordered an immediate prohibition on contractualization.

According to Jollibee, it took the necessary steps on employment matters since last year.

"It has been incurring the costs of those steps since the 3rd quarter of 2016 and most of these costs have been ... incurred by the end of 2016," it said.

In a previous disclosure, the company said it registered P11.9 billion of general and administrative expenses in 2016, up 10.4 percent from a year earlier.

It noted, however, that general and administrative expenses will likely go down this year.

"With respect to General and Administrative Expenses, the cost increase will decline in 2017 compared with rates of increases in the past two years, at rates equal to or less than the growth in revenues," it said.

"The major investment spending in information technology and network development organization has already been incurred and will start to grow at a normal rate starting in 2017," it said. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News