COST OF LIVING/Wowprime to hire 400 new employees; hotpot brands to raise wages by 4%

Taipei, Jan. 24 (CNA) Wowprime Corp., which owns 26 restaurant brands in Taiwan, is looking to hire about 400 new employees in the first quarter of the year as the restaurant chain owner is keen to expand its operations and take advantage of strong domestic spending in the post-COVID-19 era.

In addition, two of its hotpot brands -- 12hotpot and 12MINI -- will raise employee wages by 4 percent, starting Feb. 1, after similar initiatives adopted by its other restaurant brands last year.

In a statement, Wowprime, the flagship brand of which is Wang Steak House, said the recruitment campaign aims to increase the workforce for its hotpot restaurants as well as Chinese cuisine stores by seeking store manager trainees and chefs among other posts.

Wowprime said it has already opened four stores in January and its newest Chinese restaurant brand serving Chiuchow-style congee is set to open soon, so demand for manpower is accelerating.

Wowprime said 12hotpot and 12MINI are expected to raise starting monthly salaries for full-time employees by 4 percent to NT$34,400 (US$1,099), which is about 15 percent higher than the market average.

Last year, Wowprime raised wages by about 6.4 percent on average for 4,400 of its employees working for its teppanyaki, hotpot and other Chinese restaurants.

Due to solid domestic demand, Wowprime said most of its restaurants have seen reservation rates of 80-90 percent for the first three days of the upcoming Year of the Dragon, which starts on Feb. 10.

In the tech field, ASE Technology Holding Co., the world's largest IC packaging and testing services provider, said on Tuesday that it will issue NT$12,000 in special bonuses to entry-level employees before the Lunar New Year holiday.

As the company has more than 10,000 entry-level employees, the bonuses will cost ASE about NT$150 million. The special bonuses are separate from year-end bonuses.

In addition to the special bonuses, ASE said the company will take into account employee performance when raising wages, although the tech sector is still feeling the pinch from global demand weakness.

ASE said the wage hike demonstrates the company's aim to boost employee morale and loyalty, as a way of facilitating corporate sustainability.