Over 3,800 workers on unpaid leave programs: labor ministryStaff writer, with CNAThe number of workers placed on formal unpaid leave programs in the first half of this month stood at about 3,800, with more than 70 percent affected by US tariffs on Taiwanese exports, the Ministry of Labor today said. A total of 3,839 workers at 240 companies were on furlough as of today, Ministry of Labor Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment head Huang Chi-ya (黃琦雅) today said at a briefing in Taipei. The figure was an increase from the 3,770 workers at 247 firms reported to be on furlough on March 2. "A total of 184 companies, involving 2,804 workers, reported being affected by US tariffs, with those cases accounting for more than 70 percent of the overall total," Huang said. Most enterprises implementing furlough programs in the first half of this month were small companies employing fewer than 50 people, and most programs were scheduled to last less than three months, the ministry said.

Source: Taipei Times March 16, 2026 10:32 UTC