CaliToday (26/12/2025): The recent closure of a major South Korean-invested garment factory, which left over 2,600 workers unemployed overnight, has triggered an immediate and sophisticated response from the Vietnamese government. Rather than viewing this merely as a welfare crisis, policymakers are treating it as an opportunity to accelerate the nation’s labor restructuring, deploying a two-pronged strategy: Digital Bureaucracy and Strategic Reskilling.
1. The "One-Touch" Safety Net: VNeID and VssID
In the past, claiming unemployment benefits in Vietnam involved a labyrinth of paperwork and physical queues at employment service centers a stressful burden for those already facing financial uncertainty.In response to the current wave of layoffs, the government has aggressively streamlined this process.
- Integration: Unemployment insurance claims have now been fully integrated into VNeID (the National Population Database application) and VssID (Vietnam Social Security application).
- The Result: Workers can now file for benefits from their smartphones. By cross-referencing national ID data, the system automatically verifies employment history and eligibility, reducing the approval time from weeks to mere days. This ensures that the financial "lifeline" reaches affected families before their savings run dry.
2. From Sewing Machines to Software: The Reskilling Initiative
The most ambitious part of the government's response is the refusal to simply push these workers back into other low-wage garment jobs. Recognizing that the era of cheap labor is fading, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) has launched an Emergency Vocational Transition Package.- Targeted Training: The program prioritizes courses in digital literacy, electronics assembly, and high-end services. The goal is to migrate the workforce from the "sunset industry" of basic outsourcing to the "sunrise sectors" of high-tech manufacturing and tourism services.
- Incentives: Workers who enroll in these transition courses receive not only free tuition but also a subsistence allowance during their study period.
3. A Macro-Economic Pivot
This policy shift signals a maturity in Vietnam’s economic governance. By combining immediate digital relief with long-term educational investment, the government is acknowledging a hard truth: the 2,600 job losses are not an anomaly, but a symptom of Vietnam’s climb up the global value chain."We are not just supporting them to survive the month," a representative from the Department of Employment stated. "We are equipping them to survive the next decade of the digital economy."