The number of workers in formal furlough programs dipped to its lowest point in more than three years as a rubber product supplier ended its unpaid leave program, the Ministry of Labor said on Monday.
As of Sunday, the number of workers in furlough programs fell to 4,685, the lowest level since June 1, 2021, when a total of 4,125 furloughed workers were reported, the ministry said.
The decrease, compared with 5,338 as of June 15, came as a rubber product manufacturer ended its unpaid leave program, because of an increase in orders, putting more than 580 workers back to work, Labor Conditions and Employment Equality specialist Li Yi-hsuan (李怡萱) said.
Photo courtesy of New Taipei City Labor Affairs Department
The export-oriented manufacturing sector reported 3,886 furloughed workers as of Sunday, down from 4,550 as of June 15, ministry data showed.
In the services sector, the retail and wholesale industry reported 370 furloughed workers as of Sunday, slightly up from 367 as of June 15, while the lodging and food/beverage industry had 258 workers in furlough programs as of Sunday, also slightly up from 248 as of June 15, data showed.
The services sector in Hualien County — which was rocked by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on April 3 that hurt its tourism sector — was particularly weak, with the transportation and logistics, lodging and food/beverage, and arts/entertainment/leisure sectors reporting more than 100 furloughed workers, the ministry said.
Taiwan’s technology protection rules prohibits Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) from producing 2-nanometer chips abroad, so the company must keep its most cutting-edge technology at home, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks in response to concerns that TSMC might be forced to produce advanced 2-nanometer chips at its fabs in Arizona ahead of schedule after former US president Donald Trump was re-elected as the next US president on Tuesday. “Since Taiwan has related regulations to protect its own technologies, TSMC cannot produce 2-nanometer chips overseas currently,” Kuo said at a meeting of the legislature’s
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process
RSS