Formosa Plastics Group to raise wages by 2%

Taipei, Aug. 14 (CNA) The Formosa Plastics Group (FPG), one of the largest conglomerates in Taiwan, on Thursday announced a decision to raise wages for its employees by 2 percent, dating back to July 1, although its major entities incurred losses in the first half of this year.

According to the conglomerate, FPG President Wang Wen-yuan (王文淵) agreed in a meeting with representatives of the group's worker union held Thursday morning on the wage hike for all group employees.

The wage increase has allowed FPG employees to pocket additional NT$1,190 (US$39.75) on average a month, as the average wages will breach the NT$60,000 mark for the first time by reaching NT$60,373, the group said.

Speaking with reporters, Lin Shan-chih (林善志), head of the FPG's business management committee, said the global economy has faced tremendous uncertainties created by the U.S. tariffs and a foreign exchange loss this year, with the petrochemical industry still in weakness, the four major entities of the FPG swung to a loss in the first half of this year.

During the six-month period, the four companies -- Formosa Plastics Corp., Nan Ya Plastics Corp., Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. and Formosa Petrochemical Corp. -- all recorded rarely seen net losses, with an aggregate loss of about NT$21.32 billion, compared with a net profit of NT$15.68 billion a year earlier.

Despite the operational difficulties, Lin said, the FPG still took into account the impact resulting from inflation and decided to raise wages during the annual wage review in a bid to take good care of its employees.

In the first seven months of this year, Taiwan's consumer price index rose 1.87 percent from a year earlier, according to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), which has forecast CPI will rise 1.88 percent for the entire 2025.

Separately, Shinkong Synthetic Fibers Corp., one of the leading textile makers in Taiwan, said to retain employees, it will raise wages by 2 to 4 percent based on their performance, starting from Sept. 1.