There are more than 130 companies in the aerospace industry here, including Singapore firms such as ST Engineering Aerospace, SIA Engineering Company and Singapore Aerospace Manufacturing. — Reuters pic
“These companies undertake maintenance, repair and overhaul , as well as manufacturing activities, and are a significant part of the global aerospace value chain,” Tan said.He added that based on preliminary estimates, the aerospace sector accounted for S$13 billion in total output last year. Aviation analyst Shukor Yusof of Endau Analytics said that the crippled commercial aviation sector has placed the aerospace industry “under threat”.
Fan said that aerospace companies will start to realise they have to minimise cash burns so that they can weather the storm “to the point where the demand comes back on”. “That we don’t have a local domestic market to fall back on makes it tougher for us to maintain our position Now all slates are clean and the scoreboards are the same,” he said.
Fan said that for Singapore to function as a regional hub again, the pandemic has to be “truly over.” Tan added that EDB’s immediate priority is to work with the National Trades Union Congress, its affiliated unions and relevant government agencies to help affected employees in seeking alternative employment. said that the news of retrenchments in the industry is worrying, but they are confident that their skills are transferable to other sectors.