SINGAPORE: Food and beverage company Yeo’s will lay off 25 workers following Oatly’s decision to close its Singapore plant.
This is on top of the 34 Oatly employees in Singapore who will be affected by the Swedish drink company’s decision to stop producing its products here, after first setting up shop in Senoko three years ago.
This takes the total number of affected workers due to the closure of Oatly’s production plant to 59.
The affected Yeo’s employees were specifically hired to support Oatly’s production which Yeo’s partnered with in 2019, said Yeo’s on Thursday (Dec 19).
“Yeo’s has made every effort to reassign as many as possible, and has successfully placed 16 employees in other roles within Yeo’s,” said the company.
“Unfortunately, the remaining 25 employees will be retrenched and will receive severance packages based on their salary and years of service.”
Yeo’s said it was working with the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU) to ensure adherence to tripartite guidelines and that fair compensation is provided to affected employees.
The company said it would also provide job-matching support and career guidance to affected employees.
Both Oatly and Yeo’s have entered into an exit agreement to dissolve their tie-up.
Yeo’s will receive an exit compensation amounting to S$32 million (US$23 million) in instalments, which is to be paid in full by January 2027.
Oatly opened the S$30 million production plant in October 2021. It said on Wednesday that the decision to close it was aimed at improving the company’s “future cost structure and reduce future capital expenditure needs”.
After closing its production facility in Singapore, the company stated that its anticipated growth in the Asia-Pacific region will be supported by its European facilities.
Yeo’s added it “remains committed to supporting Oatly’s distribution operations in Singapore and Malaysia” despite the ceasing of manufacturing operations here.
