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More than 4,000 employees of ABS-CBN Corp., which closed its radio and television stations after Congress refused to renew its franchise, will be laid off as of today, September 1.
The 4,452 workers laid off are less than the 11,000 the media giant said would be out of work, according to a document submitted to the Department of Labor and Employment, a copy of which was obtained by The Manila Times.
The document, RKS Form 5 of 2020, showed that 2,547 male workers and 1,905 female employees were laid off. Of these, 2,887 were regular employees, 2,455 were managerial employees, 79 were supervisors, and 353 were grassroots.
According to the document, 1,508 program employees, 54 project employees and three were direct hire contracts.
The first wave of layoffs as of September 1 will affect 2,633 workers, followed by 12 workers on September 30, 13 workers on October 31, three on November 20 and 38 on December 31.
In the document, ABS-CBN cited financial losses as the main reason for cutting jobs.
During hearings in the House of Representatives, senior officials of the network giant reiterated that the 11,000 employees would lose their jobs if their franchise was not renewed.
His claim was refuted by a letter dated February 21 signed by the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Office (BIR) Caesar Dulay to the Attorney General José Calida, and presented during the House hearings, which only recorded that 4,401 workers from ABS-CBN had been paying income taxes. and therefore could be considered regular employees.
Calida had requested a certification from BIR to reinforce the quo warranto petition that it filed with the Supreme Court against ABS-CBN Corp. and ABS-CBN Convergence Inc.
Calida alleged that the two corporations committed irregularities and violations of the law.
With a vote of 70-11 on July 10, the House Legislative Franchise Committee denied the renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise.
The Chamber cited violations committed by the media entity, including the US citizenship of its president emeritus Eugenio Gabriel López, labor abuses and tax evasion.
