PENANG, 10 December 2020 - Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is willing to help in the reskilling of some potentially affected workers following SONY's plan to close its audio plant in Penang.

It was reported that about 3,600 workers from the Penang factory who will be affected. Many are likely to be laid off, while some could be transferred to other factories, according to the media.

The USM Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dr. Faisal Rafiq Mahamd Adikan said that USM continuously focuses on helping the nation to grow and retain its talent and during difficult times, reskilling can be one of the options to ensure that talents in the country could revisit and replan their career path.

"We are looking at the offering of short courses which are future-ready, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Business Analytics, Business Continuity, Occupational Safety and more at the certificate level.

"The courses will be conducted mainly at our Alor Setar facilities, Kulim facilities and can be accessible online from wherever you are, and shall be conducted with a fee waiver for the impacted staff of SONY. We are initiating discussions with the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) on this move so that we can also help to channel those trained into relevant sectors," he said, adding that this initiative may expand into other economic sectors impacted during the COVID-19 period.

He also added that USM is also looking into possibilities of absorbing potential staff from SONY's research team in Penang, in addition to suitable pieces of equipment for the benefit of the students, while at the same time accommodate ongoing and future research.

Quoting media reports, Sony's Penang plant is the main production site for audio products like headphones and home audio equipment. The company plans to stop operations by the end of September 2021 and close the facility by the end of March 2022. The manufacturing functions will be transferred to its factory in Kuala Lumpur, which is Sony's main plant for manufacturing TVs.