nam gurun

The Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI), an agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), said the recent staff retrenchment at Naza Automotive Manufacturing (NAM) was an isolated case.

“The industry is still recruiting. In fact, MAI is working to train new workers for Perodua, GO Auto and other automotive companies,” MAI’s CEO Madani Sahari told Business Times. He was commenting on NAM letting go 255 workers from its plant in Gurun, Kedah last month. The plant previously employed 601 workers.

“We have undertaken an exercise to rationalise the staff strength at Naza Automotive Manufacturing given the tough economic conditions brought about by the weakening ringgit and domestic and export demand,” the company said in a statement on August 27.

MITI Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said last Friday that Naza’s retrenchment is not a big issue in Malaysia, unlike during the 1997/1998 financial crisis, when nearly 100,000 workers were retrenched.

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