In Thailand more than 17,000 employees had been laid off in Thailand so far this month with about 132,000 others threatened with job loss later in the year, Labour Protection and Welfare Department chief Amporn Nitisiri said in Bangkok on Tuesday.
A total of 17,474 Thai employees have lost their jobs at 163 factories and other workplaces so far this month, compared to 8,357 workers in January 2009.
As many as 132,130 workers, mostly at factories around Thailand, are likely to be laid off at nearly 300 factories and other workplaces throughout the year, Mrs. Amporn further said.
The Thailand department called on thousands of workers from the Thai Garment factory in Samut Sakhon's Omnoy district who were gathering to protest a management plan to lay off over 800 of their colleagues, not to obstruct traffic on Petchakasem Road.
The Thai Garment factory, which employed about 2,660 workers, had offered to give more severance pay than legally required for those who quit on a voluntary basis.
