Global auto giant General Motors will cut jobs in its international headquarters in Singapore. This comes after the firm announced last week its plans to restructure in international markets “to strengthen global business performance.”
Some 90 employees will leave GM International by the end of June and 40 by the end of 2017,
Reuters reported.
“As the industry continues to change, we are transforming our business, establishing GM as a more focused and disciplined company,” said GM chairman and CEO Mary Barra last week.
Among other things, GM said it will “streamline” its regional headquarters office in Singapore, in a bid to deliver greater organizational efficiencies while leveraging global resources and in-market expertise.
“GM is working with employees, their union representatives and local authorities to provide transition support.” The auto giant added that the Singapore office will retain responsibility for strategic oversight of the remaining regional business and markets, including Australia and New Zealand, India, Korea and Southeast Asia.
Layoffs in Singapore dropped to 4,800 in the first three months this year, following an increase in the previous quarter (5,440 in total) according to preliminary figures from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). The city-state saw lower redundancies in manufacturing, and slight increases in construction and services.
“With some sectors continuing to experience cyclical weakness, and as businesses continue to restructure, redundancies are expected to remain elevated,” said MOM.
Looking ahead, the ministry said the labour market outlooks is likely to remain uneven across sectors. The outlook for the global economy has improved slightly, “benefitting some outward-oriented sectors” in the Singapore economy, but downside risks and uncertainties remain.
“Hiring in some sectors remains cautious, but opportunities will continue to be available in others such as Healthcare, Infocomm, Finance & Insurance, and certain segments of Manufacturing,” said the ministry.
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