The majority of these employees work in the tourism and accommodation sectors, construction, transportation and textiles and footwear companies, said Le Minh Tan, director of the municipal Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.

In June and July, 54,000 employees of nearly 2,000 businesses in the city were laid off due to the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis, Tan said. The recent new wave, with 421 Covid-19 infections reported in 14 localities including HCMC since July 25, has been a setback for businesses that were already hit hard by the first outbreak.

Local shoemaker Hue Phong Leather Shoe Co. Ltd., based in HCMC’s Go Vap District, plans to lay off nearly 1,600 workers on August 30, said Pham Van Tai, vice chairman of Go Vap District’s Labor Federation.

The company says the Covid-19 pandemic has forced its major partners in the U.S. and Europe to cancel their orders, inflicting hefty losses.

The company had already laid off around 2,500 workers between May and June to cut costs after the pandemic hit its new orders.

More than 327,000 employees in HCMC had lost their jobs in the first half of this year as a result of the pandemic, the highest number in the last four years.