Pacific International Lines (PIL), Southeast Asia's largest shipping company, has announced job cuts as the company is pushing for larger-scale automation and artificial intelligence (AI) technology applications to improve operational efficiency and global competitiveness. The widespread use of automation technology is said to have impacted PIL's resource requirements, particularly in its shipping agency business.

The layoffs affect only a small percentage of PIL's total workforce in Singapore, but the exact number of employees and positions were not disclosed. The operations of the Singapore head office will not be affected by the layoffs.

PIL is ranked 12th in the global liner capacity rankings.

In order to minimise the impact of this redundancy as soon as possible, PIL is working with the Singapore Supply Chain Employees' Union (SCEU) to ensure that the affected employees are reasonably compensated. The retrenched employees will receive generous severance packages, including relocation services, training allowances, extended medical coverage and bonuses expected in 2025.SCEU's Executive Secretary said PIL notified the union well in advance to ensure that the union had enough time to work with the company in negotiating the retrenchment compensation packages and providing assistance to the affected employees. The union worked closely with the company's management to ensure that the retrenchment process was fair, equitable, sensitive and respectful of employees.

It is understood that despite the retrenchments, PIL is still expanding its workforce in Singapore, adding more than 30 per cent of staff to support the company's AI-driven transformation. The restructuring measures include shifting some of the manual operational tasks to locations more amenable to large-scale automation.

PIL's workforce reductions are part of the company's push to automate and smarten its transformation to improve operational efficiency and global competitiveness. The use of these technologies has significantly improved efficiency and safety in the shipping industry, but may also lead to the disappearance of some positions and the realignment of human resources.

In addition, PIL plans to replace some of its existing vessels with 13 dual-fuel container ships, with the new vessels being able to run on both LNG and conventional marine fuels. Under PIL's US$2 billion (about S$268 million) programme, the first two vessels were delivered in Shanghai in October and became the company's largest batch, with a capacity of up to 14,000 containers.Earlier in November, PIL also announced an order for five additional dual-fuel containerships, which are expected to be delivered between 2027 and 2028.

Recently, PIL was ranked among the top 15% in the industry for its due diligence in corporate social responsibility and sustainability, and was awarded a silver rating by EcoVadis, a globally recognised authority on corporate social responsibility, which rates companies on various environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators.

Founded in 1967, PIL is the largest local shipping company in Southeast Asia and one of the top 12 container shipping companies in the world.

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