Expats in Singapore Fearing for Jobs

Expats in Singapore Fearing for their Jobs as Redundancies Soar

Redundancies are going up in Singapore and expats are fearing for their jobs and their futures.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Singapore’s economy could shrink by up to 7 per cent – and economists believe that about 200,000 people will be made redundant by the end of the year. This is far more than the global financial crisis of 2008 when 40,000 were made redundant.

Expat professionals are worried and unsure whether they will be able to continue to work and stay in the city-state they call home. Employers in Singapore are looking to cut their cost in advance of a looming recession, including both job and pay cuts and expats are likely to bear the brunt of the lay-offs. The Singapore government will only be giving financial support to permanent residents and Singaporean citizens.

According to The South China Morning Post, one couple are doing their best to stay solvent after the husband’s pay was cut by 20 per cent and their landlord refused to temporarily reduce their rent. They are trying to save money by shopping in local wet markets, buying regional ingredients and attempting to balance the books whilst looking after their young child, and their savings are not going to last for long.

One expat who works as a property agent at Knight Frank said she hears of two or three foreign families planning to leave Singapore every day because of the redundancies and many have asked for rent reductions or help in finding replacement tenants to take over their leases. Short term rentals are also becoming more popular due to the uncertainty regarding their jobs.

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