The Penang government took to task a couple of local dailies for misrepresenting the facts on the recent spate of workers’ layoff in several foreign and local companies in the state.

The Pakatan Rakyat state government’s Investors Relations Coordinator Jeff Ooi said the local dailies – English tabloid Star and Chinese daily Kwong Wah Jit Poh - should have double-checked with the state administration before publishing the facts and figures, rather inaccurately, on the retrenchments that took place in March.

Although it was true that 1,000 workers were retrenched in these companies, he said the dailies were incorrect to construe the incidents as signs that foreign investors were moving out from Penang due to lack of confidence in the new administration.

He said the companies were retrenching to downsize their operations and due to outsourcing their production line. He added such changes in company operations were part and parcel of corporate-driven economy.

Japanese-Malaysian joint venture company, Renesas Semiconductor (M) Sdn Bhd has retrenched 14 workers due to its outsourcing programme.

“Since the company has outsourced a particular production line to local vendors, it retrenched its workers, whose jobs have become redundant,” said Ooi.

“The state government’s responsibility is to ensure that all retrenched workers were duly compensated with adequate retrenchment benefits and re-employed elsewhere.

“All affected workers were paid off sufficiently,” he assured, while adding that the affected workers’ compensation amounted to RM6.7 million.

He added that relevant government agencies in the state would coordinate to provide new jobs for the out-going employees.

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Meanwhile, American company, WD Media (M) Sdn Bhd from Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone retrenched the largest number of workers, 700 employees altogether, followed by Taiwanese wholly owned ASE Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd, which retrenched 300 workers.

Other companies were Malaysian companies, Permanis Sandilands Sdn Bhd and Boustead Emasewa Sdn Bhd, and foreign owned Applied Material Sea Pte Ltd and Lighthouse Worldwide Solutions (M) Sdn Bhd.

The companies retrenched a total 10 workers.

Last week, the newspapers published the facts and figures released by the state manpower department on the retrenchment.

“The dailies have blew the issue out of proportion.

"Their incorrect reports have caused unnecessary anxiety to the public and industrial sectors.

“Please double check with us first before publishing such stories,” said Ooi, who is also the chief of staff in the Chief Minister’s Office.

He said the manpower department should have consulted the state government before releasing the statement.

“We would ask the department to do just that the next time,” said the blogger-cum-politician.