sAccording to state media, the communist country in Southeast Asia, which is one of the world’s largest exporters of textiles, shoes and furniture, is suffering from a cost-of-living crisis that is affecting its Western customers, who are consuming less than before.

The company has informed the authorities that, according to VNExpress, about 6,000 permanent employees of PouYuen Vietnam, which is owned by Thai Pou Chen, will lose their jobs from the end of next month.

“This will be the biggest redundancy since PouYuen started its activities in Ho Chi Minh City in 1996,” said the state press.

PouYuen is the largest employer in Ho Chi Minh City, the economic capital of the south of the country, with about 50,000 employees.

In February, the company had already laid off about 3,000 permanent workers and 3,000 temporary workers had yet to see their contracts renewed.

At the end of last year, PouYuen forced 20,000 workers to take leave on a rotating basis to share the little work they had left.

In the first quarter of 2023, a third of production sites in Ho Chi Minh City experienced a labor shortage, according to a local survey.

Authorities said the slowdown mainly affected the footwear, apparel, construction and food processing industries.

More than 630,000 people will lose their jobs or have their hours reduced in 2022, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Labor.

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