Singapore Turf Club staff speak of shock, disappointment and tears at news of closure, layoffs

SINGAPORE — When Ms Chng Yi Jun, a Singapore Turf Club senior manager of corporate marketing, got an email on Monday (June 5) morning about a last-minute town-hall meeting for all employees that afternoon without any details, she did not think much of it.

The 35-year-old, like most other employees, was therefore shocked to hear Singapore Turf Club's president and chief executive officer Irene Lim announce that the club will be shutting down by March 2027 and letting go of its 350 staff members progressively before the closure.

After all, the company had reported "good" financial results and paid out "nice bonuses" just last month, Ms Chng told TODAY.

“I saw many looks of surprise, because really none of us knew about this. Some of our colleagues have been here for many, many years.” 

These included Mr Teo Yam Choon, 62, an assistant manager of property facilities who has worked with the club for 33 years and is one the club's longest-serving employees. 

He said that he saw some co-workers not being able to hold back tears when they heard the news and that the atmosphere at the town hall was "gloomy".

"I did not expect this to happen because horse racing has been in Singapore for almost 180 years," he added. 

Similarly, Mr R Jayaraju Raji, 55, who is head of tracks at the club, said that the employees found the news hard to believe.

"They were shocked, this news was sudden... the feelings were very high," he said, adding that he himself was "disappointed" and "sad". 

"I have mixed feelings. We grew and started this place to make it one of the best race tracks in the world."  

He added that Singapore Turf Club had gone through some "difficult times" during the Covid-19 pandemic but business has improved since then, giving its workers the belief that things were "picking up".

The employees there said that while rumours of the club’s potential closure spread on several horse-racing websites in the past week, they did not pay them much attention to them. 

Ms Lim broke the news to them at the town-hall meeting lasting about half an hour and explained the rationale for the decision, before the heads of departments held smaller group meetings where staff members were informed that more details on their compensation packages would be shared with them in the coming days.   

Ms Chng, who joined the company in April last year, described the atmosphere at meeting with Ms Lim as calm.

“There were no emotional outbursts or any raised voices, everyone listened very attentively.” 

She said that she felt "very assured" that Ms Lim had given employees her commitment that Singapore Turf Club would continue to upskill and reskill them in the months ahead and also help them with career guidance.

"(I felt) that the management is really here to support the team. That contributed to the calm atmosphere,” she added. 

"It's really a pity. I really enjoy working here, (but) I think it's good that I have a good 16 months to consider my options."

Mr Jayaraju, who has been working at the club for 22 years and is a certified horticulturist and arborist, said that he will soon have to find new work in a related field.

As for Mr Teo, he was hoping to find another job as well because he said that he is still healthy, and only if he fails will he make plans for retirement. 

Both men also said that they have many fond memories from their time working at Singapore Turf Club.

Mr Teo spoke about his pride in being involved in building the Kranji facility from scratch as a project manager.

"We work like a family, most of the staff here are from the old turf club... and many have been with the club for about 30 years," he said. 

Mr Jayaraju recalled being involved in Singapore Turf Club's opening in 2000 that was graced by Mr SR Nathan, who was at the time president of Singapore, and when the club produced Singapore’s most famous horse, “Rocket Man”, which won multiple races here and abroad.

“That was our pride and I was given many opportunities while working here to reconstruct the tracks from scratch,” Mr Jayaraju said. 

He added that he was particularly proud of the installation of a special poly track in 2008 for the racecourse that is customised to Singapore's climate that prolongs the racing career of horses and minimises their injuries.

“One of the reasons why I started working in the racecourse was to improve the horses’ performance and look after their health. I will miss (them).” 

In a statement on Monday night, the Singapore Manual & Mercantile Workers' Union, which oversees Singapore Turf Club, said that it will work to ensure a smooth transition for the staff members while protecting their interests.  

Mr Andy Lim Tze Khong, the union's secretary-general, said: "We are concerned about the workers who will be affected in terms of their emotional aspect and also the placement of the older workers.

"Therefore, we are in discussion with Singapore Turf Club on how best we can address this and the retrenchment benefits that will be worked out for our workers."