KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 9): None of Proton Holdings Bhd’s employees will be retrenched despite the change in the national carmaker’s management, following its tie-up with China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) said.

“The management of Proton’s assets still remain the same as before. As we already know, the focus will be on Tanjung Malim. Proton has said it will transfer its [non-automotive] assets to DRB-Hicom,” deputy minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan told the Dewan Rakyat earlier today.

According to Ahmad Maslan, Proton has 9,600 employees, as well as 230 vendor companies, with 50,000 employees of their own, nationwide.

“There are currently 9,600 Proton employees and none will be retrenched. In terms of vendors, Proton has 230 of them nationwide, with 50,000 employees of their own. Proton’s supply chain will continue as usual. In fact, new vendors will even be appointed while the existing ones will be developed in terms of quality,” he said.

Apart from that, Proton also works with 300 distributors, all of which will focus on the 3S (sales, service and spare parts) business model “to prepare themselves, should Proton hit the expected potential contribution target of 500,000 units in ten years from now”, Ahmad Maslan said.

On Sept 29, DRB-Hicom Bhd and Geely announced the appointment of Dr Li Chunrong as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd (PONSB), Proton’s manufacturing arm.

Chunrong, who had just climbed aboard Geely’s senior management team from Dongfeng Honda Engine Co Ltd, will be responsible for Proton's entire operations involving production, manufacturing, operations, marketing, quality, research and development, as well as sales and marketing.

“His (Chunrong) appointment would accelerate Proton's recovery plan, which would then help propel the nation's automotive industry to a global arena in five years and become one of the top three automotive brands in the Asean region," Ahmad Maslan said.