As S’pore retrenchments rise, more workers turn to unions for help

Layoffs commonly stemmed from AI, offshoring and restructuring

More white-collar workers are turning to unions and trade associations for help after losing their jobs.

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) has also seen more cases of retrenchments due to business restructuring recently, said its assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay.

NTUC handled over 3,900 retrenchment and termination-related cases for professionals, managers and executives (PMEs), up 5% from 2024.

Some cases stemmed from offshoring and relocation as companies cut costs, Tay told The Straits Times in an interview. In some instances, roles are being shifted out of Singapore “even when local PMEs are experienced and capable,” he said.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is also emerging as a factor, though economy-wide data remains limited. “We are also seeing businesses cite investments in AI as a factor for workforce restructuring,” said Tay. “Some workers find themselves displaced because job roles are changing faster than they can adapt.”

The figures cover cases handled across NTUC’s 58 affiliated trade unions and six trade associations, including the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management@NTUC. They exclude cases from its Employment and Employability Institute (e2i).

While total employment in Singapore has grown and the unemployment rate has remained low at 2% in 2024 and 2025, retrenchments have increased over the past few years from 6,440 in 2022 to 13,020 in 2024 and 14,400 in 2025.

Many workers still not aware of unions that can represent them

Tay said that NTUC is concerned that many PMEs are still not aware that they can join unions and be represented by labour movements during retrenchments.

It is particularly worried about those in the professional services, finance and infocomm and technology sectors as they are most exposed to the effects of generative AI at work, said the Pioneer MP, who is also director of strategy and legal at NTUC.

NTUC is working to do more for PMEs, said Tay, noting that unions’ scope to represent them has widened over time. Previously, PMEs could only be represented individually on limited matters. But 2015 amendments to the Industrial Relations Act expanded this, allowing rank-and-file unions to represent them collectively as a class.

Now, only employees with clear conflicts of interest—such as those involved in hiring and firing, or with access to confidential personnel and budget information—are excluded from union representation during retrenchment.

As industries transform and PMEs face growing retrenchment exposure, NTUC is pushing for stronger protections, Tay said. This includes advocating in Parliament for earlier retrenchment notices and broader access to the SkillsFuture Jobseekers’ Support Scheme for the involuntarily unemployed.

NTUC is also working with the Government and employers on the Employment Act review, hoping provisions can extend further to PMEs, he added.

“We’re trying to get more of the PMEs to be aware that they can be part of a union and that actually we can represent them,” he added.

Companies can do more to alleviate the repercussions of retrenchment

Labour economist Walter Theseira warned that mandating additional worker protections could make Singapore’s labour market more rigid and hurt competitiveness. But he also acknowledged that workers are currently “too exposed to the risks of retrenchment.”

The Singapore University of Social Sciences associate professor also noted that benefits are not legally mandated, but subject to the solvency of a company and its willingness to pay.

“The presumption that PMEs can ‘self-insure’ places a burden on families to set aside substantial savings in case of retrenchment,” he said.

Unemployment benefits in the form of the Jobseekers’ Support Scheme are also currently too limited to lower-income workers, Theseira added.

As such, Theseira suggested that including higher-income workers with larger payout levels through a scheme jointly funded by workers and employers could be useful.

Another solution the professor posited was retrenchment benefit insurance that companies are required to contribute to, which could also be useful in providing guaranteed benefits.

A risk-pooled retrenchment benefits system could be more efficient than leaving workers to fend for themselves, he added, with safeguards to encourage reskilling and job search while receiving support.

• Read other articles we’ve written on Singapore’s current affairs here.

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