Singapore Career News: Singapore's IRAS, Power Seraya to cut jobs

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Singapore's IRAS, Power Seraya to cut jobs
By Hasnita A Majid, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Singapore's Inland Revenue Authority has revealed to Channel NewsAsia that it plans to let go of 120 people, capping a week of bad news for some workers.

ANA Hotel announced it will shut its doors next month and lay off all 200 staff, and Power Seraya is also cutting staff.

E-file your tax returns -- that is the message the taxman has been drumming home for the past few years.

And it has worked: last year 60 percent of taxpayers filed their tax returns online.

This has helped do away with a lot of paperwork, but it also means the work can be done with fewer staff.

"More taxpayers are actually e-filing and more of the services are done the e-way and going one year ahead, there will be job cuts in some areas," said Patricia Mak, IRAS assistant commissioner of corporate services.

The tax office expects to cut 120 admin and support staff. This works to about 6 percent of its payroll.

But the statutory board is not wielding the axe immediately.

Staff will be given six months to volunteer to go. The job cuts will only happen next February, so the reality has not sunk home yet.

"We actually recognise that there will be a morale issue. The idea is that we have one year to plan and see where we can help staff to prepare where they want to go," Ms Mak said.

But the Inland Revenue Authority is not the only office planning to cut staff.

Utility company Power Seraya has also said that it is going to reduce its headcount.

Union leaders say the final number of job cuts will be decided by the middle of next week.

The 448 staff at Power Seraya have been told about the planned cuts.

The last time Power Seraya cut staff was five years ago when it shut down its Jurong plant. More than 100 staff lost their jobs then.

But it is not all bad news on the job front; some companies are hiring.

IT firm Agilent Technologies is looking to hire 350 people this year, while chip tester ST Assembly is hiring over 1,000 people. - CNA