Ayutthaya industrialists call for B10bn relief fund

ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY

Industry figures in Ayutthaya say 10,000 workers in the province may lose their jobs unless the government sets up a 10-billion-baht relief fund by next month.

Tosapol Wangsilabat, chairman of the provincial branch of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), said the province could be an early victim of the global recession because its electronics industry relies heavily on export markets.

The province is already experiencing hardship as it is home to international industrial giants including Western Digital, Canon and Nikon, which have been severely affected by the global downturn.

Industrialists are asking the new government to speed up the 10-billion-baht employment relief fund planned by the Somchai Wongsawat government to help the electronics industry.

"The electronics and electrical parts industry have cut their production by 50%," said Mr Topasol. "Around 10,000 workers in the province alone will lose their jobs in the first quarter next year if the government has done nothing to help them by next month."

He said the electronics and electrical parts industries faced a 50% cut in orders for the first quarter of 2009. The province's unemployment crisis early next year could also be heightened by 220,000 of Ayutthaya's workforce of 350,000 being employed in the electronic sector.

Mr Tosapol said 80% of the estimated 300-billion-baht annual value of the products manufactured by the province's 1,761 factories is contributed by the electronics industry.

He suggested that the government take the province as a model for developing an action plan to tackle unemployment by using the 10-billion-baht fund according to the previous government's plan.

This model includes spending 60% of the budget on soft loans to struggling business operators, with a grace period of between one and two years. The remaining 40% would assist unemployed workers with skill training and soft loans to set up their own businesses.The model focuses on subcontract and upstream operators, whom Mr Tosapol said are worse placed than giant operators with greater cash flow.

He said the province's business sectors have already cut overtime, reduced working days and trimmed wage bills by 10% to stay in business.

"I hope they [the new government] understand this urgency and continue with the plan as the outcome of failing to do so is obvious," he said.

He added that industrial relations between workers and employers were another concern.

The business sector is set to meet with provincial governors on Wednesday to re-evaluate the economic situation.