The COVID-19 pandemic has had an adverse impact on the job market, causing hiring freezes, pay cuts and retrenchments.
British electronics firm Dyson is not spared from it. It announced yesterday (July 23) that it will cut 900 jobs worldwide due to the COVID-19 impact on consumer demand.
Out of this figure, 600 jobs will be from the company’s UK operations. Those affected will mostly be retail and customer service staff, and they will be redeployed to other roles where possible.
Dyson did not elaborate further on the remaining 300 jobs.
In total, the planned redundancies will affect about 6 per cent of the company’s global workforce of 14,000 people.
In an e-mailed statement, a Dyson spokesperson said that the demand “remained strong” for its products, which range from floor cleaners and air purifiers to hair dryers and lighting, but the way people were buying them had altered.
“The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated changes in consumer behaviour and therefore requires changes in how we engage with our customers and how we sell our products,” said the company.
“We are evolving our organisation and reflecting these changes to make us faster, more agile, and better able to grow sustainably.”
What About Singapore?
Dyson courted controversy last year over a decision to move its UK headquarters to Singapore, where it was planning to manufacture an electric vehicle before ditching the project.
It was touted to be the first electric car manufacturing plant in Singapore, but Dyson scrapped the S$4.3 billion plan last year. 20 Singapore staff were affected by this closure.
In July last year, Dyson CEO said that the firm expects its headcount to “grow quite substantially over the course of the next few years,” though he didn’t reveal any exact figures.
It also intends to double its headcount at its Science Park facility, which will reportedly create an additional 190 jobs over the next five years.
Separately, Dyson also announced that it intends to hire over 2,000 people across Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines over the next four years.
On its job portal, Dyson is currently hiring for 27 roles in Singapore, including engineers, software analysts and project managers.
You can view its career page here.
Featured Image Credit: Gareth Phillips