Restaurant sets Hong Kong layoff record


Hong Kong has been dubbed a 'sick society' by some observers, with joblessness and suicides at a high

HONG KONG, China -- Chinese restaurant chain The Treasure Restaurant Group has slashed 1,500 jobs in what is thought to be the biggest layoff in Hong Kong's history.

The group shuttered 12 Treasure Restaurants on Sunday night. Management told workers not to come to work on Monday.

The restaurant is one of the longest-lasting chains in Hong Kong. Its flagship restaurants were in the Hong Kong island neighborhood of North Point and in Yau Ma Tei of Kowloon.

According to the South China Morning Post newspaper, the previous record for a layoff is held by Pacific Century CyberWorks, which slashed 858 jobs in March.

That layoff caused demonstrations outside the offices. Amid one of the sharpest downturns in Hong Kong's economic history, the suicide rate is widely considered to be at a record high.

That has led authors such as Gordon Chang to dub Hong Kong a "sick society" (full story).

Issues easing with dollar

Money issues should ease in Hong Kong, though, as the U.S. dollar weakens against other Asian currencies.

The Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the U.S. dollar at HK$7.8 to $1. The relative strength of the dollar against most Asian currencies until it started to weaken inflated prices for produce and other goods that are shipped into Hong Kong.

Restaurant staffers stated that they were planning to register complaints over the closure to Hong Kong's Labour Department.

The restaurant group had been working on a restructuring plan, according to the SCMP. It stopped taking advance bookings on weddings and other large events some time ago.

The group has paid only 60 percent of the workers' wages for May, management told employees. The company pledged to pay the rest but did not set a deadline.

Falun Gong spokesman Kan Hung-cheung owns part of the chain. But it has also held pro-Beijing events, including functions for China state news agency Xinhua.

In another restaurant closure earlier this year, employees did not know they were out of a job until they showed up for work to find the doors locked. About 1,000 workers have lost their jobs in Hong Kong restaurants this year alone.

The Treasure Restaurant chain started in 1977 and had 20 storefronts at one stage.