Layoffs often range from AI, downsizing and redeployment
Many white-collar workers turned to unions and trade unions for help after losing their jobs.
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) has also seen many cases of layoffs due to business restructuring recently, said its deputy general secretary Patrick Tay.
NTUC handled more than 3,900 cases related to layoffs and termination of professionals, managers and executives (PMEs), an increase of 5% from 2024.
Some cases stem from relocation as companies cut costs, Tay said The Straits Times in the conversation. In some cases, roles are being outsourced to Singapore “even if local PMEs have the knowledge and skills,” he said.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is also emerging as a factor, although data on the overall economy remains limited. “We’re also seeing businesses cite investment in AI as a catalyst for workforce reinvention,” Tay said. “Some workers find themselves out because work roles are changing faster than they can adapt.”
The figures include cases handled by all 58 NTUC affiliated unions and six trade unions, including the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management@NTUC. They do not file cases with the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i).
While the employment rate in Singapore has grown and the unemployment rate remains low at 2% in 2024 and 2025, layoffs have increased over the past few years from 6,440 in 2022 to 13,020 in 2024 and 14,400 in 2025.
Many workers do not know the unions that represent them
Tay said NTUC is concerned that many PMEs still do not know that they can join unions and be represented by trade unions during layoffs.
It is of particular concern to those in the services, finance and infocomm and technology sectors as they are most exposed to the effects of productive AI at work, said the Pioneer MP, who is also NTUC’s strategy and legal director.
NTUC is working to do more for PMEs, Tay said, noting that the scope of unions to represent them has expanded over time. Previously, PMEs could be represented individually in limited matters. But 2015 amendments to the Industrial Relations Act expanded this, allowing rank-and-file unions to represent themselves collectively as a class.
Now, only employees with clear conflicts of interest—such as those involved in hiring and firing, or who have access to confidential personnel and budget information—are excluded from union representation during layoffs.
As industries change and PMEs face increasing exposure to layoffs, NTUC is pursuing stronger protections, Tay said. This includes Parliamentary advocacy for early redundancy notices and wider access to the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme for the involuntarily unemployed.
NTUC is also working with the Government and employers on the revision of the Employment Act, in the hope that the provisions can extend to PMEs, he added.
“We are trying to get more PMEs to realize that they can be part of the union and that we can actually represent them,” he added.
Companies can do more to mitigate the effects of layoffs
Labor economist Walter Theseira has warned that mandating more labor protections could make Singapore’s labor market tougher and harm competition. But he also admitted that the workers are currently “very exposed to the dangers of layoffs.”
The Singapore University of Social Sciences professor also noted that the benefits are not legally mandated, but are subject to the company’s solvency and willingness to pay.
“The assumption that PMEs can ‘protect themselves’ puts the burden on families to set aside their savings in case they are laid off,” he said.
Unemployment benefits in the form of the Jobseeker Support Program are also currently very limited to low-wage workers, Theseira added.
As such, Theseira suggested that including high-wage workers with high pay levels through a co-sponsored program by workers and employers would be beneficial.
Another solution the professor introduced is layoff benefit insurance that companies must contribute to, which may also be helpful in providing guaranteed benefits.
A risk-based layoff benefit system would be more effective than leaving workers on their own, he added, with safeguards to encourage restarting and job searching while receiving support.
- Read other articles we have written on Singapore current affairs here.
Featured Image Credit: TK Kurikawa/ Shutterstock.com
