APO Cement is laying off 30 per cent of their regular employees and up to 40 per cent of their contractual workers. The announcement came as a shock to employees after the workers' general assembly meeting.

The lay-offs will come into effect on 13 December 2018 and will last for at least six months. The decision stems from the suspension of the quarry operations of Apo Land and Quarry Corp (ALQC), the main supplier to APO Cement, which suffered a disruption to mining after a landslide in Naga City. Work was stopped at ALQC following the cancellation of the Environmental Compliance Certificate.

Sourcing raw materials from other parts of the country has increased costs for APO Cement. APO Cement has more than 800 contractual staff and 300 regular employees as the second-largest cement producer in the Philippines.