170 workers laid off by lingerie maker

Lingerie manufacturer Triumph has laid off 170 seamstresses - 17 per cent of its factory workforce - in a move it blames on the economic downturn.

The workers - mostly middle-aged women - received seven days' severance pay. Company officials could not be reached for comment.

All the workers had been at the company for less than two years. If they had worked longer, they would have received 18 days' money per year worked.

One said she was a week away from being employed for two years.

'Seven days' severance pay is not enough. I might not find anything even after 70 days,' said Mrs Fu, who earned $6,000 a month.

'At this age, who'd hire me? My husband works, but the two of us have to support our 13-year-old daughter and three elderly parents.'