And companies are freezing all of their hiring, and in many cases laying workers off because demand [for their products] has completely collapsed.

企业冻结所有的人员招聘，而且在许多情况下，正在裁减员工，因为产品需求完全崩溃了。

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And restrictive labour laws make firms reluctant to take on staff to meet a big one-off order, because of the difficulty of laying workers off later.

ECONOMIST: China has won; but so far, South Asia has not lost

But this isn't just another story about laying off workers and outsourcing their jobs to Asia.

FORBES: Going Global

The economic downturn meant companies were laying off workers and skimping on health benefits.

FORBES: Washington Watch