Heaptalk, Jakarta — Two Yamaha piano factories are reportedly shutting down soon, potentially resulting in the loss of 1,100 jobs.
In response to this situation, Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said that the factory closure must be viewed holistically from the beginning to the end, hence the root cause can be fully identified. He emphasized that focusing only on the end of the process makes it difficult to solve the problem from the start.
“In our view, even one case of termination of employment is a problem, since terminations should not be only statistics. We need to empathize with the impact of layoffs, imagining it as happening to our siblings. Therefore, we always study each case thoroughly. If a factory is closing, we ask why. Is it due to mismanagement? Over-expansion? Or the inability to compete with other products, such as imported goods from certain countries, indicates their lack of competitiveness,” said Agus.
“If a factory is relocating, we ask why. Are the incentives in the new country better than ours? Why? We study every case of factory closure and termination of employment,” he continued.
He acknowledged that whenever employment is terminated, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Manpower become the main focus. However, both ministries have limited authority and may not be able to address all the company’s business aspects.
“When employment is terminated, both this office and the Ministry of Manpower are scrutinized. But the problem must be identified. The authority to provide incentives related to competitiveness doesn’t lie with us. Safeguard measures, trade restrictions, and non-tariff barriers fall under our office, but only to a limited extent,” Agus explained.
“We get the spotlight for terminations, but people don’t want to delve into the root cause. We need to understand it thoroughly,” he added.
Agus claimed that the electronics sector is one of the government’s priorities. However, he admitted that the influx of imported electronic goods has affected the competitiveness of local products. “Electronics is one of the seven sectors receiving attention from the Ministry of Industry, not only because it contributes significantly to GDP but also because it employs many workers. We are concerned about the influx of imported products, which is alarming, especially for electronic goods. But as long as there’s an influx of products from certain countries into Indonesia, we have to act,” said Agus.
Previously, Riden Hatam Aziz, President of the Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers Unions (FSPMI), revealed that the two Yamaha factories set to close are PT Yamaha Music Product Asia in MM2100, Bekasi, and PT Yamaha Indonesia in Pulogadung, East Jakarta. Both factories produce pianos.
“PT Yamaha Music Product Asia, located in the MM2100 industrial area, Bekasi, will close at the end of March 2025. This factory employs around 400 people. Meanwhile, PT Yamaha Indonesia in Pulogadung, Jakarta, with 700 employees, will stop operations at the end of December 2025,” said Riden on Wednesday (02/26). He hopes the government will address this issue, considering that 1,100 employees will lose their jobs.
