SINGAPORE: A young Singaporean woman expressed her anger online after her father suddenly lost his job despite spending years working hard and remaining loyal to his company.
On a Reddit forum called “r/SingaporeRaw,” the daughter said she found it rather unfair that her father was laid off after the company decided to relocate its production operations to Malaysia.
“My dad did everything society and this government tells you to do,” she wrote. “Worked hard for years, paid taxes, contributed to CPF, raised a family, and stayed loyal to his company. Yet all it takes is one decision to move jobs elsewhere, and suddenly our family’s future becomes uncertain.”
She also shared that her father had not been acting like himself in the weeks before the retrenchment.
According to her, he became “quieter, more distant” and would spend long periods staring at his phone after work.
“My mum kept asking if something was wrong, but he just brushed it off and said he was tired,” she said.
The truth finally came out a few days later when he broke down and admitted he had lost his job.
The daughter explained that her father is the sole breadwinner of the family, while her mother is disabled and unable to work. She and her sister are also still studying and are financially dependent on him.
She added, “People always say there’s financial assistance available. Maybe there is, but anyone who has actually needed it knows it doesn’t magically solve everything, like school fees, transport, groceries, utilities, and medical expenses. [They] don’t disappear overnight.”
Seeing her father quietly worrying over finances at the dining table has also caused her to reflect on whether ordinary Singaporean workers are truly protected in their own country.
She said, “Every election, we’re told Singaporeans will be protected and that good jobs will be created for locals. But when I look at my dad sitting at the dining table, wondering how he’s going to support the family and pay next month’s bills, I can’t help but wonder what that protection actually means.”
“Maybe there are economic reasons, or maybe companies have to do what’s best for business, or maybe my family is just unlucky; policies don’t work in favour of us. For families like mine, those explanations don’t make paying the bills any easier.”
“I would suggest you contact social workers.”
In the comments, one Singaporean Redditor remarked, “This is sadly the price of capitalism. With a mix of monopoly, it makes it worse.”
Hoping to be of some help, another user wrote, “I would suggest you contact social workers for assistance for your family. I am not familiar with schooling assistance, but for your mum’s disability, see if you can get HGC, which can be S$600/month.”
A third wrote, “Very sorry that this has happened to your family. I believe your father is already at an age where upskilling and other nonsense schemes by the govt won’t be easy or produce any results.”
A fourth added, “Guess it’s time for your family to take stock of any expenditure that is not necessary. And for you and your sister to get part-time jobs if possible.”
In other news, a fresh university graduate in Singapore has found themselves caught between practicality and ambition after receiving a job offer paying S$3,000 a month —a salary they admitted feels difficult to accept, yet equally difficult to walk away from.
Compared with recent graduate salary figures, which place median starting pay anywhere from S$3,840 for ‘Arts, Design and Media’ graduates to around S$5,500 for those in ‘Information and Digital Technologies,’ the offer struck them as rather low.