Thai Foods Plc lays off hundreds

Thai Foods Plc terminated 20% of its entire workforce in late November.

Chaipatr Srivisarvacha, chairman of the board, said the company has undertaken an organizational revamp to keep cost in line with business scale. He declined to comment about layoffs.

The changes follow the appointment of a new CEO, Prasit Maekwatana, who reportedly has undertaken sweeping changes at the company, said a source close to the industry.

According to the company’s annual report, it paid 0.95 billion baht to employ 2,565 workers in 2017.

The company found that 20% of its workforce could be dismissed without affecting the operation. Many workers were terminated on short notice, said an employee, who added that most will get only three months severance pay regardless of their working period.

Thailand’s Labour Protection Act stipulates that workers are entitled to severance pay from 30-300 days depending on their employment period.

The company reported Q3 net profit at 525.9 million baht, vs 701.3 million baht, a 25% decline y-o-y.