Several large electronics companies in Bintan, Riau Island in Indonesia, affected by the global economic downturn, have begun large-scale worker layoffs, a local manpower agency official said Thursday.

"Layoffs have been happening since the start of the new year and are expected to peak in March," the head of Bintan district's manpower office, Makhfur, said as quoted by Antara.

The agency noted 923 workers in the Kijang area and 636 workers in the Lobam area had been laid off. Before the layoffs there were 2,700 and 10,802 workers in Kijang and Lobam, respectively.