TI lays off 400 workers; group warns of more job cuts

MANILA, Philippines - Slowing demand has forced semiconductor exporter Texas Instruments (TI) to lay off 400 of its 2,300 workers, the Labor department said on Friday. The government was helping the dismissed workers from the company’s Baguio City plant get trained so they could find jobs soon, Labor department Director Jay T. Julian said in a telephone interview. "The [Cordillera Administrative Region] office has been monitoring their situation. But we have been told that 100 of the workers will be moving to the company’s Clark plant," he added. Texas Instruments manufactures mobile phone parts. The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Inc. (SEIPI) warned of more job cuts due to declining demand from markets worldwide. "There will be more [job cuts]... obviously, with the decline in demand," SEIPI Chairman Arthur J. Young Jr. said in a separate interview. "But the last thing we want to do is let go of our people," he added. Mr. Young said some companies have shortened work days, while others have offered early retirement packages. The industry group has projected a 5% to 8% decline in sales this year due to slowing demand abroad. A dip of as much as 10% was also expected next year, assuming conditions start improving in the last half. "If there is no recovery in the second half, then that is a different story," Mr. Young said. — Emilia Narni J. David and Paolo Luis G. Montecillo, BusinessWorld