By HENRY EMPEÑO | Subic Bay Freeport

JAPANESE precision motors manufacturer Nidec Subic Philippines Corporation said goodbye to more than 70 percent of its work force here on January 5, as it trimmed operations to maintain the viability of the company here in Subic amid shifting global market.

The firm, which specializes in precision electronic equipment, direct-drive spindle motors, and specialized digital core parts for multimedia, retrenched 784 of its workers Tuesday morning and released their separation pay as well, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said on Wednesday.

“It’s sad news for us, but we hope that this will be just a temporary setback that would allow the company to weather the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy,” said SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma.

“The company will not close down altogether,” Eisma added, pointing out that Nidec has retained 300 workers to maintain the company facilities at the Subic Techno Park here.

Some Nidec workers affected by the manpower cutback posted farewell selfies on social media as early as Monday, January 4, during their last day on the job.

One of them is Jessa Lyn Pador, a quality assurance worker at the firm, who said she had come to love her work that she logged only one absence in the entire five years she was with Nidec.

“Lahat ng pundar ko, nagsimula nang dahil sa iyo,” she added in her fond goodbye.

JM Esteban Raymundo, a worker from Subic, Zambales, meanwhile posted a photo of Nidec workers on their way to claim their last pay check on January 5.

“Nakakalungkot. Bye for now, Nidec Subic,” Raymundo said, adding: “Eto ang first job ko. Thank you, Nidec, marami akong natutunan sa iyo.”

According to the SBMA Labor Department, Nidec had listed 1,197 direct hires on its rolls, aside from 211 workers sourced out from a manpower provider and 36 from a security firm as of December 2020.

But financial difficulties had bedevilled the Subic production facility as early as August last year, said Nidec vice president for administration Tetsuya Nakao. 

In a letter asking the Department of Labor and Employment for exemption to the new minimum wage order, Nakao revealed that “the impact of Covid-19 pandemic has greatly affected our operating expense and doubled our company expenditures on shuttle services.”

Last December, Nidec deputy general manager for administration Daisy Mae Jaucian informed SBMA Labor Department manager Melvin Varias that the firm will cut down the number of its employees, citing the closure of their base production of spindle motors (SPM) effective February 5, 2021.

“We find that we must reduce our workforce to ensure the financial stability of the company,” Jaucian said. “We have always valued and continue to value the contributions of all our employees and deeply regret the need for this action.”

Unconfirmed reports said that there was low demand for spindle motors and that the Subic facility would diversify to produce some other product.

In the aftermath of the retrenchment, the SBMA Labor Department said it will help Nidec in profiling the displaced workers to help them access alternative employment in the Subic Bay Freeport.

Varias said the SBMA has identified a total of 254 job vacancies among 15 companies in the Freeport as of January 6 for which the retrenched workers may apply.

The available positions included, among others, 150 production operators and 15 quality control personnel in a shoe factory; 21 engineer, operator and inspector positions in a computer manufacturing firm; and production planners in another Japanese firm. ~