Biggest HCMC employer suspends over 3,500 workers

By Le Tuyet June 25, 2021 | 12:06 am PT

Pouyuen Vietnam workers return home after their shifts ended. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa.

Taiwanese-invested footwear maker Pouyuen Vietnam suspended 3,546 workers from the Mekong Delta Province of Tien Giang for seven days starting Friday for Covid-19 contact tracing.

According to Pouyuen Vietnam, the workers are employed across the factory. Temporarily suspending them would affect its business, forcing many staff to work overtime or causing the factory to reduce production.

Pouyuen Vietnam is the biggest employer in HCMC with 56,000 workers. Of these, 13,500 are from neighboring localities including the Mekong Delta Province of Tien Giang, Long An, Dong Thap, Ben Tre and the southern province of Tay Ninh, who commute to work via company transport.

Over 600 company buses are used daily to pick up its workers. These now carry less than 20 people following Covid-19 prevention measures.

Pouyuen Vietnam recorded its first Covid-19 case on June 8, which caused nearly 600 employees to temporarily stop work and be quarantined.

HCMC has recorded the second-highest number of local infections since the new wave started on April 27. Its case count has reached 2,343 Friday afternoon.