PSA CUTS 800 JOBS

PSA CUTS 800 JOBS    PSA Corp., the Singapore-based global terminal operator, announced a radical plan to cut its workforce by 800 positions, with effect from March.
   The group said that the plan is part of an on-going initiative to enhance its competitiveness.
   The job cuts will “include retrenchment, expiry of contract, non-replacement of staff who retire or resign, as well as transfers to other organizations,” PSA said.
   The port group said it will working with its unions, the Singapore Port Workers Union and the Port Officers’ Union, to help staff find new jobs.
   Last Friday (Feb. 14), PSA announced the sale of its non-port activities to a subsidiary of Temasek, a state-controlled holding that owns the port group and other companies.
   “We have re-deployed as much as we can in recent years and have now reached the limits of re-deployment,” said Stephen Lee, chairman of PSA, who described the job cuts as “a very painful measure.”
   The staff cuts have become all the more necessary in today’s increasingly competitive and demanding market place, PSA said.
   PSA’s main port business — the operation of the port of Singapore — has faced significant competition from new container transshipment hubs based in nearby southern Malaysia.