More Malaysians will get the axe this year due to economic challenges, says Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF).
It added that the introduction of “disruptive technology” in certain industries would also add to the number of job cuts in the country.
Executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said these developments would lead to employers reviewing their workers’ requirements.
“I think slightly more workers will be retrenched this year,” he told a press conference after the Taxation and Employer seminar jointly hosted by the Inland Revenue Board and MEF yesterday.
Shamsuddin said in 2015, about 44,000 workers lost their jobs while up to September last year, about 40,000 workers were retrenched.
However, he said authorities had not released the complete data for 2016, but assumed numbers could be higher than the previous year.
Shamsuddin said in 2015, about 18,000 of those who lost their jobs were from the banking sector due to what he termed as “disruptive technology”, such as adopting online transactions, for example.
Among the other industries that could be affected, he also highlighted insurance where many preferred dealing with the companies for their services, making redundant the job of middlemen or agents.
