HCMC garment firm slashes 1,900 jobs due to order shortage

This followed a 1,828-job layoff in 2022, bringing the total number of employees laid off in the last two years to 3,775, according to its financial reports.

Garmex Saigon, which has been operating for two decades, saw revenues plunge 35-fold to VND8.6 billion ($353,183) last year due to a drop in orders. It recorded no order in the last six months of the year.

The company ended the year with a VND52 billion loss.

As there was no work, the company had to fire its employees and shut down production to reduce costs.

It spent VND11 billion on compensation last year, down six times compared to 2022.

Its chairman Nguyen Viet Cuong received no salary last year.

Garmex Saigon is a large company in the garment industry and has a lot of international customers.

This, however, is now a disadvantage for the company as buyers from the Europe and the U.S. have slashed their orders and it is still uncertain when they will resume buying.

The company does not plan on recruiting until it sees a strong potential for recovery in the sector.

Garmex Saigon has five factories in Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province in southern Vietnam and Quang Nam Province in the central region.

In 2019 it employed 4,000 employees and recorded VND100 billion in profits.

It first reported a loss in 2022 as sales plunged 93% due to a decline in global demand.