NewsWhore
12-16-2008, 05:50 PM
Until a recent summit in La Romana with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), global financier George Soros and former chief economist at the World Bank Joseph Stiglitz, President Leonel Fernandez maintained that the DR was immune to the international financial crisis. Now the reality is setting in. The country is starting to see chinks in its armor as US-based companies are suspending contracts and reducing production orders from free trade zones (FTZ) in the DR. According to Listin Diario, Chrysler, J.C. Penny, Home Depot and Bombay are among the companies that are reducing their orders for products made in the country and as a result the National Free Trade Zone Export Council (CNZFE) has announced that the FTZ in Esperanza has cut 30 jobs. CNZFE confirms that at least 600 jobs will be lost in La Romana's FTZ. CNZFE director Luisa Fernandez Duran said that US company closures have affected FTZs in the country. As the crisis grows worse in the US, the DR could begin to feel the crunch. But not all hope is lost, according to Fernandez, saying that 98 installation permits have been granted with a total RD$5 billion investment, which could create 11,000 jobs.
Between January and September 2008 126,038 jobs were lost, an average of 14,004 per month. According to the Labor Ministry 101,928 of those job losses were due to dismissals, 4,960 due to employees quitting and 19,150 for "other reasons." Among these job losses are the 900 Falconbridge mineworkers who were recently dismissed, as well as 4,000 Grupo M workers and 1,500 Cap Cana employees who lost their jobs in recent weeks.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)
Between January and September 2008 126,038 jobs were lost, an average of 14,004 per month. According to the Labor Ministry 101,928 of those job losses were due to dismissals, 4,960 due to employees quitting and 19,150 for "other reasons." Among these job losses are the 900 Falconbridge mineworkers who were recently dismissed, as well as 4,000 Grupo M workers and 1,500 Cap Cana employees who lost their jobs in recent weeks.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)