Former Economic Minister and MDP National Council Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail has warned that a proposed 33 per cent reduction in the workforce of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) could result in 14,733 employees losing their jobs, affecting the livelihoods of around 50,000 people.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Fayyaz criticised a directive by the Privatisation and Corporatisation Board (PCB) instructing SOEs to reduce their workforce by 33 per cent within the next three months as part of a "right-sizing" initiative.

He said the scale of the proposed cuts would have significant economic and social consequences, with the affected employees and their families accounting for an estimated 20 to 25 per cent of the population.

Fayyaz also highlighted the previous MDP government's response during the COVID-19 pandemic, stating that no government employees were dismissed and that financial support programmes assisted 22,945 people who had lost their income. He said the government spent MVR 419 million on those programmes, helping to protect businesses and support the country's economic recovery.

He further argued that, before reducing staff numbers, the PCB should first determine why SOEs had become overstaffed and identify whether responsibility lay with company management or government decisions.