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Published on September 28, 2007

At 7.30am yesterday some 500 workers angry with the sudden lay-off protested in front of the Wearnes Precision (Thailand) office, whose entrance showed a sign saying: "factory closed, employment terminated with salaries and compensation already transferred to employees' bank accounts".

The protesting workers dispersed around 11.30am.

With the sudden and secretive nature of the closure - which the company executives decided to do without any advance warning to some 700 employees, including managerial staff, factory workers and those working at its subsidiary company - the protesting employees said they feared they would not be fully compensated.

Later, the company's Singaporean managing director, Eddie Ho Kok Cheng issued a two-page statement saying the closure was due to domestic economic problems that had caused the company to suffer continuous losses over the past three years.

The executives, with the stockholders' consent, laid off some 600 employees yesterday, the statement said. The company had transferred payments and compensation to the laid-off workers' bank accounts. The workers could report an inaccurate calculation of compensation to the company before October 5, and it would be amended, the statement said.

At 10am, Chon Buri deputy governor Khomsan Ekkachai visited the company and joined a one-hour meeting with company representatives and related agencies. He then told reporters that the agencies would help check if the company had accurately compensated the laid-off workers and Chon Buri Employment Office would help find them new jobs.

The Nation

CHON BURI