Global economic conditions have also made the Indonesian government anxious, including the Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita. He acknowledged that the current global economic condition was indeed not good and had to be watched out for. The government, he said, will continue to monitor global developments so that they can immediately anticipate. "I agree that global economic conditions are not good and we must be careful, must continue to be vigilant and follow developments," Agus told reporters in Jakarta, quoted on Saturday (10/6/2023).
This was conveyed in response to news of a wave of layoffs (PHK) currently hitting labor-intensive industries in the country. Especially the footwear sector (shoes) as well as textiles and textile products (TPT). Moreover, with the confirmed condition of the European economy experiencing an economic recession.
"We both have to be aware of what's happening globally, especially in the economic field. We're not in a good condition, it's not profitable for us. The global market is still weakening," he added.
This, he said, was proven by the significant decline in Indonesia's manufacturing PMI this month, compared to last month.
"One of the reasons, from various reasons (the decline in PMI) is the weakening of our export market. Especially the European market," he said.
"However, we also see that there are other regions that are growing quite well. Therefore, we must be able to find non-traditional markets for our products," said Agus.
At the same time, he said, the government will strengthen the domestic market. Namely, strengthening purchasing data which can help support consumption and the domestic economy.
"We are looking for and preparing various kinds, for example incentives. Of course we will prioritize industries that have high multi-effect, call them labor-intensive," said Agus.
He also gave an example of PPnBM incentives that the government had disbursed during the last pandemic. This incentive, he said, was able to support the domestic economy which was facing the domino effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We are looking for incentives that can make our industry better, not worsen its condition, avoid layoffs," said Agus.
As previously reported, Ristadi, President of the Nusantara Trade Union Confederation (KSPN), said that the wave of layoffs in Indonesia had not yet ended.
Currently, 9 shoe and textile factories are reported to be in the process of reducing their workforce, starting with laying off employees, namely:
Location: Central Java
- Duniatex: 3,000 workers were laid off due to layoffs
- Agungtex Group: 2000 workers laid off due to layoffs
- PT Kabana's efficiency was laid off due to the layoffs of 1,200 workers
- PT Pismatex went bankrupt in the process of resolving the layoffs of 1,700 workers
- PT Sae Aparel thousands of layoffs due to partial relocation.
Location: West Java
- PT Pulaumas was laid off due to layoffs of 800 workers
- PT Adetex has laid off 500 workers for the layoff process.
Location: Banten
- PT Nikomas laid off thousands of workers in stages
- PT Chingluh 2000 employees were laid off.
The data, said Ristadi, could be larger because it only includes data on companies that have KSPN member unions. He gave an example, the layoffs carried out by PT Panarub and PT Tuntex around a total of 3,000 workers in Tangerang were not included in the KSPN data because they were not members.
