Citing two local officials familiar with the company’s plans, Reuters reports that Taiwan-based Pou Chen Corp, which makes athletic footwear for Nike, Adidas and others, plans to cut about 6,000 jobs at its Pouyuen Vietnam plant in Ho Chi Minh City due to weak demand. The plant is reportedly set to cut 3,000 jobs this month and will not renew employment contracts for another 3,000 workers later this year. The plant currently employs a total of about 50,500 workers. Shares of Pou Chen fell 1.2 percent in Taiwan after the news surfaced, in a broader market that was down just 0.1 percent. In 2021, Pou Chen said it was struggling with a labor shortage and disruption of production in Vietnam due to the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, however, Vietnamese exports fell 26 percent in January from a year earlier, while imports fell 24 percent. Industrial output could thus drop even further in the future as companies cut back on buying materials and equipment for production, Reuters concluded.

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