i-Cable chairman denies rumours of layoffs

Ahead of Wharf Holdings' exit from its "unprofitable" pay-TV and broadband internet business - i-Cable Communications - upon the expiry of its TV license on May 31, rumour had it that the network is preparing a huge layoff next week.The rumour, quoted by Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions' Tang Ka-piu, said a staff member has been told the company will dismiss as many as two-thirds of its employees next week.Stephen Ng, Wharf’s chairman as well as i-Cable’s chairman and chief executive, denied the rumour yesterday. "All employees are going to work and being paid as usual. All colleagues will not lose anything they are supposed to get," he said.An i-Cable employee told Marketing that she did not hear about layoffs, and that colleagues are conducting their daily routines as usual so far.As for another rumour, which suggests Forever Top(Asia), a consortium founded by property tycoon David Chiu in 2015, intends to invest in i-Cable if the network can detail plans to slash expenses, Ng declined to comment, and said his company is bound by laws regulating listed companies.Ng did not say if any layoffs will take place before the end of May.