- Nike, Adidas shoes maker Pou Chen to invest nearly $281 million in India
Apr 17, 2023
By Praveen Paramasivam
CHENNAI, April 17 (Reuters) -
A subsidiary of the world's largest maker of branded sports footwear Pou Chen will invest 23.02 billion rupees ($280.86 million) to set up a manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu, the Indian state government said on Monday.
The Taiwanese footwear maker for brands like Nike, Adidas, New Balance, and Timberland manufactured and shipped over 272 million pairs of shoes in the financial year 2022 globally, up nearly 14% from a year earlier. It already has plants in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
"We hope this would be the first of many investments to come (in India)," Pou Chen Vice President George Liu said in a meeting streamed online with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.
The investment, which would create about 20,000 jobs in Tamil Nadu over a span of 12 years, would come nearly a year after Taiwanese peer Hong Fu Group signed a deal to invest 10 billion rupees to make footwear in the southern state.
Tamil Nadu made 45% of India's footwear exports over the last five years with many brands, including Giorgio Armani and Gucci, making their products or sourcing raw materials from the state, according to a government agency report.
Other global names like Apple suppliers Foxconn, Salcomp and Pegatron have also been ramping up their production in Tamil Nadu and the broader country, as they look to diversify their manufacturing footprint away from China and Taiwan.
Separately, Pou Chen planned to cut around 6,000 jobs at its Ho Chi Minh City plant in Vietnam due to low demand, Reuters reported in February, citing two local officials. ($1 = 81.9630 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Sohini Goswami)
- UPDATE 1-Nike, Adidas shoe supplier Pou Chen to slash 6,000 jobs in Vietnam -sources
Feb 21, 2023
(Adds comment from Pou Chen, latest stock price)
HANOI, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Pou Chen Corp , the world's largest maker of branded sports footwear, plans to cut around 6,000 jobs at its Ho Chi Minh City plant in Vietnam due to weak demand, two local officials familiar with the company's plans said on Tuesday.
The firm's Pouyuen Vietnam factory will cut 3,000 jobs this month and not extend labour contracts for another 3,000 workers later this year, the officials said, declining to be identified because they were not authorised to speak to media.
The Pouyen Vietnam factory supplies global companies such as Nike Inc. and Adidas AG and is one the biggest employers in Ho Chi Minh City, with 50,500 workers.
Pou Chen said the Vietnam factory planned to cut no more than 3,000 staff in the latest round of layoffs amid uncertainty over the macroeconomic outlook, and the impact on operations would be limited.
"The company will prudently respond to the dynamic changes in the business environment," Pou Chen said in a filing to the Taiwan bourse.
Pou Chen shares fell 1.2% in early afternoon trade in Taiwan in a broader market that was down just 0.1%.
Telephone calls to a factory labour union official were not answered.
The plan to cut jobs marks a reversal for the company that in 2021 faced a labour shortage and manufacturing disruption in Vietnam due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Southeast Asian country is a global hub for manufacturing, and its economy in 2022 grew at the fastest pace in decades, but economists have warned of headwinds, with weakening global demand starting to impact trade shipments.
Vietnam's exports in January fell 26% from a year earlier, while imports were down 24%. A decline in imports may indicate a future contraction in industrial production as firms cut purchases of materials and equipment for production. (Reporting by Khanh Vu and Donny Kwok in Hong Kong Editing by Ed Davies and Sonali Paul)
- Nike, Adidas shoe supplier Pou Chen to slash 6,000 jobs in Vietnam -sources
Feb 21, 2023
HANOI (Reuters) -Taiwan's Pou Chen Corp, the world's largest maker of branded sports footwear, plans to cut around 6,000 jobs at its Ho Chi Minh City plant in Vietnam due to weak demand, two local officials familiar with the company's plans said on Tuesday.
The firm's Pouyuen Vietnam factory will cut 3,000 jobs this month and not extend labour contracts for another 3,000 workers later this year, the officials said, declining to be identified because they were not authorised to speak to media.
The Pouyen Vietnam factory supplies global companies such as Nike Inc. and Adidas AG and is one the biggest employers in Ho Chi Minh City, with 50,500 workers.
Pou Chen said the Vietnam factory planned to cut no more than 3,000 staff in the latest round of layoffs amid uncertainty over the macroeconomic outlook, and the impact on operations would be limited.
"The company will prudently respond to the dynamic changes in the business environment," Pou Chen said in a filing to the Taiwan bourse.
Pou Chen shares fell 1.2% in early afternoon trade in Taiwan in a broader market that was down just 0.1%.
Telephone calls to a factory labour union official were not answered.
The plan to cut jobs marks a reversal for the company that in 2021 faced a labour shortage and manufacturing disruption in Vietnam due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Southeast Asian country is a global hub for manufacturing, and its economy in 2022 grew at the fastest pace in decades, but economists have warned of headwinds, with weakening global demand starting to impact trade shipments.
Vietnam's exports in January fell 26% from a year earlier, while imports were down 24%. A decline in imports may indicate a future contraction in industrial production as firms cut purchases of materials and equipment for production.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu and Donny Kwok in Hong Kong Editing by Ed Davies and Sonali Paul)
- World's top shoemaker Pou Chen faces Vietnam labour shortage
Nov 10, 2021
HANOI, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Pou Chen Corp, the world's largest manufacturer of branded sports footwear, is facing a labour shortage and manufacturing disruption in Vietnam, threatening its plan to return to full operation this month.
Production at its Pouyuen Vietnam factories in Ho Chi Minh City, Long An and Dong Nai, hotspots of the country's coronavirus crisis, has been scaled down since July. Its clients include Nike Inc. and Adidas AG,
"About 6% of the total employees have quit," Lu Chi Yuan, director of Pouyuen Vietnam said in a statement, which followed a meeting between the company and Ho Chi Minh City authorities.
"We are facing labour shortages, delays in large orders, and production and exports activities disruption," Lu said.
Vietnam until the middle of this year had one of the world's best coronavirus containment records, with limited disruption to its crucial manufacturing sector.
However, that changed after May, when an outbreak in economic hub Ho Chi Minh City intensified and spread to surrounding manufacturing provinces.
The mass exodus https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-vietnam-labour-idCNL4N2QX12O of tens of thousands of workers from industrial hubs in October when COVID-19 curbs were lifted has complicated Vietnam's efforts to get its key manufacturing sector back on track.
Lu asked city authorities for help with announcing and posting jobs, to help it ramp up staffing, the statement added.
Vietnam has recorded nearly 985,000 infections in total and 22,700 deaths, with about 41% of the country's population vaccinated. (Editing by Martin Petty)
- UPDATE 1-Vietnam says Nike supplier halts output at 3 plants due to COVID-19
Jul 15, 2021
(Adds details, comments from Pou Chen, background)
HANOI, July 15 (Reuters) - Changshin Vietnam, a South Korean-owned shoemaker and supplier to Nike, has suspended production at three of its factories near Ho Chi Minh City due to a coronavirus outbreak, the government said on Thursday.
The factories in Dong Nai province, which employ nearly 42,000 workers, will remain shut until July 20, the government said in a statement, adding many of the 177 infections detected in the province were workers from those factories.
Calls to Changsin's business number went unanswered on Thursday.
Vietnam has until recently successfully contained its coronavirus outbreaks, with limited disruption to its crucial manufacturing sector, which produces garments, footwear and electronics goods for some of the world's biggest brands.
The outbreak since late April has been more of a challenge, however, with record cases on many days this month, most of those in the commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City and its neighbouring industrial provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Duong.
The outbreak prompted Taiwan's Pou Chen Corp, which makes footwear for companies like Nike and Adidas , to suspend operations at its Ho Chi Minh City plant from Wednesday.
Pou Chen told the Taipei stock exchange on Thursday that the plant would be closed until July 23 for "health and safety considerations", adding it did not expect a major financial impact.
Eclat Textile Co., a Taiwan-based garment and fabric supplier, has suspended production at its Dong Nai plant until July 17, it told the Taipei stock exchange.
Vietnam has recorded 38,200 infections and 138 deaths overall, the vast majority of those since May. (Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei and Joyce Lee in Seoul; Editing by Ed Davies, Martin Petty)
- UPDATE 1-Nike and Adidas supplier suspends production at Vietnam plant due to COVID
Jul 14, 2021
(Recasts top to add Pou Chen customers, share movement)
HANOI, July 14 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Pou Chen Corp, which makes footwear for companies such as Nike and Adidas, suspended operations at its plant in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday as COVID-19 curbs hit factories in the country's business hub.
Vietnam's health ministry said in a statement that production at Pou Chen's Pouyuen Vietnam factory would be suspended for 10 days.
State media said 49 infections had been detected at the plant in Ho Chi Minh City, which is at the epicentre of the country's worst coronavirus outbreak.
The company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Shares in Pou Chen, the world's largest manufacturer of branded athletic and casual footwear, closed down 1.3% on Wednesday.
After successfully containing the disease for much of the pandemic, Vietnam has faced a more stubborn outbreak since late April.
Record infections and strict curbs on movement have left plants operating below capacity in northern provinces where suppliers for Apple, Samsung Electronics and other global tech firms are located, sources have said.
Pouyuen Vietnam, the largest employer in the city with 56,000 workers, was unable to arrange for its workers to sleep at the site as required by authorities to allow the business to remain open, the health ministry said on Wednesday.
Last year, Pouyuen Vietnam was ordered to suspend its production for two days after failing to meet local social distancing rules.
Earlier this week, state media said authorities also ordered 29 companies in the Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone, an industrial park, to suspend production due to the outbreak.
In the neighbouring Saigon Hi-Tech Park, which houses international companies, more than 700 infections were detected in recent days and authorities ordered companies to shut units with infected workers, state media reported.
Despite the latest outbreak, Vietnam has recorded far lower caseloads that many other countries with 36,605 infections in total and 130 deaths. (Reporting by Sayantani Ghosh in Singapore; Editing by Ed Davies and David Clarke)
- Nike and Adidas supplier suspends production at Vietnam plant due to COVID
Jul 14, 2021
HANOI (Reuters) -Taiwan's Pou Chen Corp, which makes footwear for companies such as Nike and Adidas, suspended operations at its plant in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday as COVID-19 curbs hit factories in the country's business hub.
Vietnam's health ministry said in a statement that production at Pou Chen's Pouyuen Vietnam factory would be suspended for 10 days.
State media said 49 infections had been detected at the plant in Ho Chi Minh City, which is at the epicentre of the country's worst coronavirus outbreak.
The company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Shares in Pou Chen, the world's largest manufacturer of branded athletic and casual footwear, closed down 1.3% on Wednesday.
After successfully containing the disease for much of the pandemic, Vietnam has faced a more stubborn outbreak since late April.
Record infections and strict curbs on movement have left plants operating below capacity in northern provinces where suppliers for Apple, Samsung Electronics and other global tech firms are located, sources have said.
Pouyuen Vietnam, the largest employer in the city with 56,000 workers, was unable to arrange for its workers to sleep at the site as required by authorities to allow the business to remain open, the health ministry said on Wednesday.
Last year, Pouyuen Vietnam was ordered to suspend its production for two days after failing to meet local social distancing rules.
Earlier this week, state media said authorities also ordered 29 companies in the Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone, an industrial park, to suspend production due to the outbreak.
In the neighbouring Saigon Hi-Tech Park, which houses international companies, more than 700 infections were detected in recent days and authorities ordered companies to shut units with infected workers, state media reported.
Despite the latest outbreak, Vietnam has recorded far lower caseloads that many other countries with 36,605 infections in total and 130 deaths.
(Reporting by Sayantani Ghosh in Singapore; Editing by Ed Davies and David Clarke)
- Global footwear group's Vietnam operations suspended for two days
Apr 13, 2020
HANOI (Reuters) - Pou Chen Corp <9904.TW>, the world's largest manufacturer of branded athletic and casual footwear for the likes of Nike <NKE.N> and Adidas <ADSGn.DE>, has been ordered to suspend production at its Pouyuen Vietnam business over COVID-19 concerns, Vietnamese state media reported on Monday.
Pouyuen Vietnam must suspend production for two days from Tuesday after failing to meet local rules on social distancing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus that has infected more than 260 people in the country, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.
"The suspension of Pouyuen Vietnam is necessary to ensure public health as well as the operations of the company," Nguyen Thanh Phong, chairman of Ho Chi Minh City, was quoted as saying.
The report said the company, which has about 70,000 employees, has failed to keep its workers from gathering and keeping a safe distance from one another.
Vietnam began 15 days of social distancing from April to curb community transmission of the coronavirus but is considering extending the measures.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Additional reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by David Goodman)
