Cut shifts or ramp up output? Vietnam's exporters face dilemma amid tariff chaos

Some factory workers in Vietnam have been told to increase output of products for the U.S. market, while others have had their shifts cut to three per week as U.S. orders were postponed or canceled, industry executives said. The radically diverging strategies, largely the result of shifting U.S. orders, show the chaotic reaction of exporters in the Southeast Asian industrial hub, which was slapped by the Trump administration with 46 percent tariffs before most duties were paused until July. "Factories change their production plan and human operations too, dividing work shifts to Mon-Wed-Fri and Tue-Thu-Sat instead of working full time, as huge orders are on hold," said Calvin Nguyen, the head of Vietnamese logistics firm WeDo Forwarding. He cited three companies producing garments, shoes and agricultural goods that changed their work plans because orders were postponed even after U.S. President Donald Trump paused "reciprocal" tariffs on April 9. Two business surveys and another three industry sources confirmed cost-cutting measures by companies in Vietnam and foreign firms' pausing of i