The National Trades Union Congress and the United Workers of Electronics and Electrical Industries will support Panasonic workers who are being retrenched and help them find new jobs, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The Japanese company on Thursday notified 700 affected workers, or about one-third of its total workforce here, as it is shutting its refrigeration compressor manufacturing operations here.

PM Lee said on Facebook yesterday that he was saddened to hear of Panasonic closing its factory, which has been here since 1972.

He added that in half a century, it has produced and shipped over a quarter billion refrigeration compressors all over the world.

He had joined the firm in celebrating the production of its 100 millionth compressor globally in 1989, of which one-third came from the Singapore factory - then the second-largest refrigeration compressor plant in the world.

"We are deeply grateful that Panasonic believed in Singapore and journeyed with us for the better part of our history," he said.

Panasonic's refrigeration compressor global headquarters and research and development functions will remain here, he noted.

"Singapore, and in particular the Economic Development Board, highly value investors like Panasonic and will continue to partner them to create jobs and opportunities for Singaporeans."

Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said yesterday that the retrenchment task force, labour movement, the Employment and Employability Institute and Workforce Singapore are working with the affected Panasonic staff.

"They are also working with the company to see how we can match (the workers) with the new jobs that are available," he said.

He added that recent reports have shown there are more vacancies than job seekers. "So, we hope to be able to place them as quickly as possible," he said.

Last week, the Ministry of Manpower reported that job vacancies in Singapore reached an all-time high of 92,100 in June. There were 163 job openings for every 100 unemployed people that month.

Dr Tan said: "The road ahead is still going to be bumpy. We need to continue to stay vigilant and keep our finger on the pulse of the economy, and also on the different industries."

He noted that Singapore is seeing a K-shaped recovery, where outward-looking industries such as wholesale trade, finance, professional services and information and communications will continue to see an increase in hiring and growth.

But other inward-looking sectors, as well as hospitality and aviation, will still face significant challenges, he said.

"The key thing that I hope we can achieve is to encourage and nudge companies to continue to think how to innovate, how to pivot to keep ahead and keep in sync with (international) trends, which are heading towards Industry 4.0," he added.

Industry 4.0 is about increasing the use of automation and smart technology in traditional manufacturing processes, for instance.

Sue-Ann Tan