MALAYSIA: Blockchain academy director David Yang warned those who think their jobs are “safe” from layoffs should not be too sure they’re in the clear, as he shared on his Instagram, @davidyet, that over half of those retrenched in January this year are not who you would expect to be laid off first — not low-skilled or foreign workers, but high-skilled local talents.
Those with degrees and diplomas — managers, engineers, people who thought they were “safe.”
“This only means your degree means nothing anymore,” Mr Yang added.
On a short video he shared on March 6, citing labour market exchange data from Malaysia’s social security organisation (PERKESO), he said that January alone saw 10,658 job cuts, with more than half (53.7%) affecting high-skilled workers.
Meanwhile, only 33% of semi-skilled workers and 11.5% of low-skilled workers were retrenched.
Mid-career professionals aged 30 to 45 accounted for the largest share of affected employees (44.1%), followed by those aged 45 and above (31.8%), while those aged 30 and below made up the smallest share at 24.1%.
These are workers David described as having the highest financial commitments in their lives: Those with young babies, car loans, and 20- to 30-year housing repayments weighing on their shoulders.
Most retrenched workers were from WP Kuala Lumpur (3,511), Selangor (2,752), and Johor (916), across the services (7,219), manufacturing (2,244), and construction (1,019) industries.
Data showed job cuts were mostly due to business closures (2,395), retirements (2,173), and other reasons.
Online, a commenter, with many others agreeing, said, “The worst thing is many of them are local talents. I think the Gov/ HRDF should pause and relook at their policies for MNC companies on taking in local talents and to grow them. Not only being put into L1, L2 , L3, etc. they should consider laying these talents into management positions within a higher percentage as well.”
While The Star reported in February, citing a statement from PERKESO, that high-skilled positions in specialised industries rose 28% in 2025, or 9,249 more than in 2024, it was a different story in February 2026. Yes, job cuts were down 3,146 to 7,512, but the share of retrenched high-skilled workers edged up to 54.4% from 53.7% the previous month.
Retrenched workers were still from the same three states, WP Kuala Lumpur (2,853), Selangor (1,863), and Johor (649), across the same industries, hitting the same group of mid-career professionals the hardest (3,254), but this time, it was mainly due to downsizing (1,769) more than closures (1,620).
Responding to the February 2026 labour market data shared on the Facebook page MALAYSIA HR FORUM, a commenter said, “The cost of doing business keeps getting more and more. No doubt it’s a vicious cycle.”
Another, however, added, “It would be interesting to see if some of these losses are attributed to the advent of technology and shift in skills.” /TISG
Read also: Singaporeans have yet again questioned if Singapore is ‘pro-business’ amid concerns on advance retrenchment notice
