Tuesday February 07, 2006

Toshiba quits Singapore without fanfare

todayonline.com :

After 27 years of operations and a series of retrenchments, Toshiba Singapore finally pulled the plug on its entire manufacturing operations here. Quietly and without much fanfare, the Japanese electronics giant confirmed that it has permanently shut down its manufacturing division in Singapore, which is based at the Alexandra Distripark along Pasir Panjang Road.

A Toshiba Singapore spokesman told Today that a total of 21 staff — out of a group of 40-odd workers — were axed from the payroll as the factory closed for good on Feb 1 — ironically the day many Singaporeans returned to work after the Chinese New Year celebrations. While the exact reason for the closure is not immediately known, soaring operations and rental costs are believed to have played a part in the decision. Ten years ago, Toshiba Singapore shifted part of its production of televisions to Jakarta, before moving the remaining portion to Malaysia last year. At its peak in Singapore, Toshiba employed about 1,600 people in its manufacturing arm, said a retrenched worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Toshiba Singapore is a subsidiary of the US$53 billion ($86 billion) Toshiba Corporation, one of the world's largest manufacturers of electronic and computer equipment. It employs about 165,000 employees worldwide. The closure of the Toshiba Singapore plant comes less than a year after another major manufacturing firm, Maxtor, shut down its Ang Mo Kio facility and shed up to 5,000 jobs.

See also :

1. Maxtor chops 5500 in Singapore
2. Maxtor to sell Singapore plant

(2006-02-07 05:56:34 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

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