Yeo Hiap Seng cuts 25 Singapore staff as it moves canning operations to Malaysia

[SINGAPORE] Homegrown beverage maker Yeo Hiap Seng is laying off 25 staff from its Senoko facility in Singapore amid a consolidation of its canned food manufacturing processes to Malaysia. 

Staff were informed of the layoffs during a closed-door briefing held on Tuesday morning at the company’s factory at 3 Senoko Way.

“This consolidation enables the group’s Johor and Selangor facilities to optimise capacity utilisation and strengthen overall manufacturing efficiency across its network. The Senoko facility in Singapore will continue to serve as the group’s headquarters, cross-border logistics hub, and smaller-scale manufacturing centre,” the mainboard-listed company said in a Tuesday (Mar 31) statement, adding that it “deeply regrets” the decision.

Yeo’s added that it is committed to helping affected employees with job placement assistance, career guidance and counselling support.

The beverage maker said it worked closely with the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU) – an affiliated union of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) – to ensure the package and transition support reflect appreciation for the contributions of affected staff.

Yeo’s is unionised under The FDAWU. The Business Times has reached out to NTUC for comment.

Yeo’s said that affected employees will receive retrenchment benefits, as agreed with the union and in line with the Ministry of Manpower’s Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment. The benefits will be commensurate with each employee’s salary and years of service.

“Wherever possible, opportunities for open roles within Yeo’s Malaysia will be offered,” Yeo’s said.

This comes as Yeo’s recorded lower revenue for its latest financial year ended Dec 31, 2025. For FY2025, the group’s topline fell 11 per cent to S$292.4 million, from S$328.6 million in FY2024, according to its latest financial statement released in February.

Then, the company attributed the decline in its topline to “weaker consumer spending and intensified competition across key markets”. In its 2026 outlook, the group cited plans to strengthen competitiveness through with “strategic priorities”, including additional cost discipline measures aimed at maintaining productivity and managing costs to fund business re-investment.

Despite the lower topline, the company’s full-year net profit rose to S$21.1 million, from S$6.9 million in the previous financial year.

A storied business

Founded in 1901 by Yeo Keng Lian, Yeo’s started out as a soy sauce factory in Fujian, China, known as Hiap Seng Sauce Factory.

The company moved to Singapore in the 1930s and broadened its product range to canned food and beverages like soy milk. In the 1950s, it pioneered the canning of chicken curry as well as the bottling of soya bean drinks.

In the 1960s, it ventured abroad and began exporting products to markets such as Brunei, the Philippines, Hong Kong, the US and Europe.

Today, the company engages in the manufacturing and distribution of food and beverage products, with production facilities in Singapore, Malaysia and China. Its products under the brand name “Yeo’s” are sold and distributed to more than 55 countries globally.

Yeo’s was listed on the Singapore Exchange in 1969, before Far East Organization, the property development group founded by the late Singapore tycoon Ng Teng Fong, acquired a majority stake in it in 1995.

The group is helmed by chief executive officer Ong Yuh Hwang, who was appointed to the role in January 2023.

Yeo’s layoffs come a week after another beverage player, the brewer of home-grown brand Tiger Beer announced plans to trim 130 roles from its Singapore staff force over the next two years. Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore’s decision comes as it scales down brewing operations in Singapore and relocates production to Malaysia and Vietnam.

The recent termination exercise by Yeo’s also follows two earlier rounds of retrenchments.

In 2022, the company retrenched 32 staff, citing a transformation of its business model amid changing consumer patterns and retail conditions as well as rising cost pressures.

Two years later in December 2024, the company announced plans to lay off 25 employees as a result of Swedish drink manufacturer Oatly shuttering its Singapore plant, a S$30 million joint investment with Yeo’s.

The company, which is thinly traded on the Singapore bourse, fell 3.3 per cent to close S$0.02 lower at S$0.58 on Monday.