MCOT to cut 700 jobs under voluntary early retirement programme
A MCOT Public Company Limited board meeting has approved the “Tem Jai Jak” (voluntary leave) programme to provide voluntary early retirement to the firm’s employees, board president Pol General Thawitchart Phalasak told Isara News Agency.
“The Finance Ministry, a major MCOT shareholder, recommended the programme in order to keep the company’s businesses afloat amid the present economic crisis,” he said. “We expect to reduce 700 employees from the current 1,600, after which MCOT will enter restructuring.”
The Tem Jai Jak programme will offer a severance package higher than the law stipulates under a budget of Bt1 billion.
“MCOT will get this money from banks using the compensation of the recalled 2600MHz frequency band that the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission will have to pay us, in installments, as collateral,” he said. “If this amount is not enough, we will use the lands that MCOT owns as collateral too.”
Thawitchart insisted the programme is purely voluntary and there will be no forced layoffs.
He said the board has submitted a business restructuring plan to the management with focus on reducing costs and increasing income from existing businesses and assets, especially TV, radio stations and vacant lands.
“As for the selection of a new MCOT president, the selection committee reported to the board on September 22 that so far there are five candidates who had submitted their applications. The committee will consider whether or not to extend the application deadline to get more candidates,” he added.