On chopping block

He then said that "even big companies like" PT Nikomas Gemilang in Serang, Banten, had axed 279 of its workers, "but the number of its workers is still large, still in the tens of thousands".

Said went on to say that Karawang, a manufacturing hub in West Java, alone had recently laid off a total of 1,323 workers.

The wave had also affected the automobile industry in Central and East Java, particularly in showroom and repair shop businesses "due to low car demand and weakening of people's spending power" and, likewise, expensive component imports, said Said.

He also noted that some companies would "surely" close operations within the next few months because "they are losing competitiveness".

THE JAKARTA POST, INDONESIA