FIEO warns of job losses if govt does not act fast

 India’s premier exporters body, Federation of Indian Exports Organisation (FIEO) said on Saturday that there could be job losses in companies as order bookings in the export sector has been on the decline.

FIEO President SC Ralhan urged the government to initiate dialogue with the industry and revisit its strategy to support the export sector.

“The order booking position shows that exports may significantly decline in volume terms, in the months to come, which will result in layoff of workers. Consecutive six months decline in exports indicate that current support level for exports is not enough,” Ralhan said in a statement.

The FIEO president said that a few months back, OECD had revised its forecast for global economic growth for 2015 from 4 per cent to 3.1 per cent, less that the 3.3 per cent growth witnessed last year.

Since, the US economy contracted in the first quarter, emerging economies slowed down. And, if Greece fails to reach an agreement with its creditors, Europe will feel the strain which may further lower the forecast for 2015.

“Now we are seeing global recessions in which you cannot control much of the risks you are exposed to,” he added. “However, you cannot blame your destiny and wait for the crisis to be over through a cyclical process. Government should act decisively and expeditiously to mitigate the adverse impact on the economy and particularly exports which has emerged as an engine of employment generation,” the FIEO chief said.