State agency Penang Invest has managed to bring in several new investments to the state, while providing 7,020 new jobs.

“This is despite the retrenchment of 3,069 workers since September this year,” said state executive councillor for economic planning, human resource, education, science, technology and innovation P Ramasamy.

The new companies included Broadcom Limited, Boston Scientific, Toshiba Medical, Jinko Solar, JA Solar and Jabil Circuit, Deputy Chief Minister II Ramasamy said when winding up his speech on Penang Budget 2017.

Ramasamy (DAP-Prai) was responding to Muhammad Farid Saad (BN-Pulau Betong) who asked the figure for the increase in the number of workers in Penang between 2008 and 2015.

Farid had also asked about job opportunities for workers who were recently retrenched by their employers.

Retrenchment of workers is a growing concern in Penang with several multinationals either closing shop or relocating to other countries.

In September, the media reported that a wave of retrenchments had hit Penang shores.

Companies like US hard disk maker Seagate Technology Plc and computer data storage firm Western Digital Corp are relocating the bulk of their operations to Thailand.

It is learnt that Intel Technology, with plants in Penang and Kulim, Kedah, is retrenching 12,000 globally, while about 1,000 are from the Malaysian operations.

However, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the situation is under control, with Penang’s unemployment rate only at 1.5 percent.

Ramasamy said Penang has seen an annual increase of 3.1 percent in its residents from 2008 to 2015, where the number of workers have increased by 14,900 from 2008 to 2009; 52,500 in 2010, 24,800 in 2011, 3,400 in 2012, 13,800 in 2014 and 25,400 in 2015.