Power unit supplier Chicony Power Technology Co (群光電能) cut about 80 jobs after dissolving its motor department due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it said yesterday in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The dissolution would not significantly affect the company’s operations, as the department accounted for less than 0.1 percent of the company’s total revenue, it said in the filing.
Chicony’s filing came after the Chinese-language Apple Daily news Web site reported yesterday that the firm eliminated the motor department and laid off about 100 workers overnight without advanced warning, with the company citing COVID-19 related underperformance as a reason.
A company employee told the Web site that they were “completely shocked” by the closure.
“They called an impromptu meeting to tell us we were dismissed and took our computers away,” the employee said. “None of us were prepared psychologically. I have not yet managed to tell my family.”
Chicony said it would move some affected staff to other roles within the company and pay severance to others, in line with the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).
It has operated the motor department for about five years, investing more than NT$200 million (US$7.22 million) per year in the business, it said.
The investment failed to pay off and the company decided to cut its losses, it said.
Chicony would refocus on its notebook, smart building, server and low Earth orbit satellite supply chain businesses, the filing said.
It reported consolidated revenue of NT$3.32 billion for last month, up 5.5 percent month-on-month and 7.1 percent annually.
Chicony’s revenue rose 18.3 percent to NT$26.10 billion last month, a historical high, it said.
The company looks forward to making “decent profits” this quarter, it added.
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