"Workers affected by start-up lay-offs are superior digital talents (and) are expected to be absorbed by other industries that wish to carry out digital transformation," the ministry's director general of informatics applications Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan said after the Kominfo V Digital Economic Forum in Jakarta on Thursday.
A number of digital start-up companies in Indonesia are implementing efficiencies, including by laying off employees, he noted.
Based on the forum, the ministry is planning to develop a digital talent database for workers affected by start-up lay-offs. The database will be shared with other institutions that need digital talents.
This method is expected to serve as a bridge between digital talents and other companies or institutions that are carrying out digital transformation, Pangerapan remarked.
"We hope the digital talents can also be absorbed by other industries or the government," he said.
He then outlined several reasons why digital start-ups conduct lay-offs. Pangerapan noted that it may not be due to a decline in business but a matter of rationalization.
For example, there are two start-ups that recently merged and decided to cut some of their employees. Other start-ups may lay off workers because of a change in activity from online to offline work.
"As I see it, this is still in the rationalization stage," he noted.
Pangerapan said that start-up companies, including in Indonesia, have a tendency to hire digital talent before they need their skills because the number of digital talents in the job market is limited.
When current conditions force companies to tighten the economy, start-ups must release digital talent in areas that are no longer needed by the companies. The rationalization carried out by start-ups is expected to make the companies operate positively and sustainably, he added.
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Translator: Natisha Andarningtyas, Resinta S
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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