A woman walks past a billboard with information on preventing the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in Hanoi. - AFP PIC
A woman walks past a billboard with information on preventing the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in Hanoi. - AFP PIC

AS the economy reopens in Southern Vietnam, foreign companies there are scrambling to recruit employees, offering higher salaries and benefits.

The companies are now trying to resume their normal production levels after months of lockdowns but some of the workers have returned to their hometowns and are yet to return.

The Vn Express reports that several factories such as South Korea's Daeyoung Electronics Vina in Thu Duc City and Taiwanese rice cracker maker Want Want Vietnam in Tien Giang province are looking at hiring more workers to bring their production capacities back to 100 per cent.

The South Korean maker of parts for LCD screens and refrigerators said they have been unable to fulfill orders in the last few months during the period of social distancing in Ho Chi Minh City.

It is now trying to persuade workers to return to the city by sending them messages that their safe travel would be taken care of and they would get vaccinated.

The Taiwanese company said they too had many outstanding orders that needed to be fulfilled and to do that, they needed to hire many workers.

Nguyen Xuan Son from recruitment company ManpowerGroup Vietnam, said labour shortages in major cities and industrial hubs were having a severe impact on labour-intensive sectors like electronics, textile, wood, footwear, tourism, and hospitality.

He said that during the four months of social distancing, millions of workers saw their incomes drop, and concerns about the pandemic and social security caused many to leave cities.

According to data released by Vietnam's General Statistics Office, some 1.3 million migrant workers had already returned to their hometowns between July and September.

Companies are increasing salaries and benefits for workers, and also considering giving promotions and opportunities for training and career development, he added.

Japanese cable maker Nissei Electric Vietnam Company in Tien Giang is also planning to hire workers when the southern province eases all pandemic-related restrictions.

The company said it has only fulfilled half its orders this year and needed more workers to complete the rest by the end of the year.

The Express reports that according to a survey by recruitment company Navigos, nearly 57 per cent of companies in the country plan to start recruiting as soon as things return to normal after the fourth wave of Covid-19 forced them to close for months.

Data from recruitment company Adecco also confirms the trend and that demand for recruitment in the third quarter surged by 30 per cent year-on-year.

Energy and manufacturing companies lead in demand for senior-level employees such as project managers, quality managers and senior supply chain operators.

An increasing number of multinational corporations are hiring in Vietnam, indicating they do not want to be dependent on foreign employees like before.

However some issues impact the companies' ability to hire more workers such local regulations that needed to be complied especially on movement controls and quarantines.

ManpowerGroup Vietnam said some multinationals were facing challenges in hiring foreign staff in senior positions due to the difficulties in bringing them into the country and limited international flights.

Many have even stopped the recruitment of foreigners except in special cases permitted by the governments.

Intel and Samsung have also said they are set to fully resume operations by the end of November after months of production disruption due to the lockdowns.

Many companies in Saigon Hi-Tech Park are now running at about 70 per cent capacity.

The park is home to Samsung, Intel, and Nidec Sankyo Corp, a maker of magnetic card readers and micro motors.