The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has committed to assist the thousands of Philippine Airlines (PAL) employees who will lose their jobs in the coming weeks.
Information and Publication Service (IPS) Director Rolly Francia, in a message to reporters Thursday, said that DoLE-National Capital Region will "handle the situation."
As to what the agency would do specifically for the displaced PAL workers, Francia said they would "ensure the payment of separation pay, provide employment facilitation services, and offer livelihood assistance to interested employees."
"PAL needs to notify DoLE and the employees 30 days prior to the effectivity of the termination," he further said.
News broke out Wednesday morning that the flag-carrier was letting go of 2,300 workers in mid-March. This represents a whopping 30 percent of PAL's total workforce.
As it is widely known, the local travel and tourism industry was brought down to its knees because of the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic last year. While the economy is slowly reopening, PAL has said that the number of flights are still well under half of the pre-pandemic levels.
DoLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III had earlier said that he would meet with PAL management in connection with the mass layoff.