Firms advised to shun lay-offs, think long-termCompanies should avoid lay-offs for the sake of short-term profit as they could be stuck with huge pension liabilities for their laid-off workers, while having to rehire more staff to deal with an expected economic rebound in the second half of the year, says human resources consultancy Mercer Thailand. He said if Thailand does not experience a second wave of the pandemic, demand and other economic variables will continue to improve and give firms leeway to retain employees. "Thailand is still a very labour intensive country and companies can see benefits from holding on to their workers to meet future demand increases." Pension liabilities are another factor that make lay-offs a less ideal option in the third quarter and fourth quarter, said Kasin Sutuntivorakoon, wealth business leader of Mercer Thailand. "We believe lay-offs could be a double jeopardy for companies," Mr Kasin said.

Source: Bangkok Post July 06, 2020 23:48 UTC