Furloughed workers top 8,500 as U.S tariffs continue to bite

Taipei, Oct. 1 (CNA) The number of workers in formal furlough programs in Taiwan surpassed 8,500 as of Tuesday, with the vast majority coming from the tariff-hit manufacturing sector, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Wednesday.

MOL data showed that 8,505 workers were on unpaid leave, up 1,171 from the middle of September. Of those, 8,070, or around 95 percent, worked in manufacturing, which has been reeling since the United States imposed a 20-percent levy on Taiwanese exports in August.

The number of employers implementing furlough programs also rose by 65 during the same period to 398, the ministry said.

Huang Chi-ya (黃琦雅), head of the MOL's Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment, said that while the overall number of furloughed workers continued to rise, the pace had slowed, from an increase of 2,471 in the first half of September to 1,171 over the past two weeks.

Within the manufacturing sector, machinery and equipment manufacturing companies were particularly hard-hit, with over 3,500 workers currently on unpaid leave, Huang said.

A total of 310 employers cited the U.S. tariffs as the main reason for implementing furlough programs, Huang added.