Forty-six companies in Vietnamese economic hub Ho Chi Minh City have cut off a total of 10,726 employees since the outbreak of the global economic crisis as a result of shrink in production, Vietnam News Agency reported on Friday.

According to the municipal labor federation, most of the 46 companies are in the footwear, textile and garment, wooden furniture, electronics and food processing sectors.

The federation is working hard to find new jobs for the laid-off employees in companies operating in similar sectors.

In a related matter, about 20,000 employees in the seafood industry in the Mekong Delta are working fewer hours than before because of production slowdowns.

Most of these companies are operating at only 30 percent to 50 percent of their capacity.

The global economic crisis has hit some Vietnam's export-driven industrial sectors hard.

(Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2009)