Flextronics to lay off 1,382 workers in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Flextronics International, one of the world's largest contract manufacturers, is shutting an assembly plant in Malaysia and laying off 1,382 workers at the end of the month, a government official said on Tuesday.

A spokeswoman from the retrenchment operations centre of the Ministry of Human Resources told Reuters Flextronics had notified it that it intends to lay off 1,382 workers from its assembly plant located in Shah Alam, a suburb of the capital Kuala Lumpur.

All employers in Malaysia are required to notify the Ministry before they implement job cuts.

"The company reported that it was laying off the employees as it was ceasing operations at its facility in Shah Alam," said the spokeswoman.

A Flextronics official declined to comment when contacted about the matter.

Factories in Malaysia have been hit hard by wilting demand for the country's key technology exports.

In December, Malaysia reported a 14.9 per cent fall in exports from a year ago, the steepest drop in seven years.

A total of 15,000 jobs were lost in January, according to government data.