{
  "id": 15959157,
  "title": "Retrenched in their 50s: The long road back to work for older workers",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/retrenched-in-their-50s-the-long-road-back-to-work-for-older-workers-15959157",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-21T22:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "CNA - Business",
    "slug": "cna-business",
    "url": "https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/retrenched-workers-50s-older-work-find-jobs-6477801"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Retrenched in their 50s: The long road back to work for older workers\n\nThree Singaporeans in their 50s share their experiences of unemployment after being retrenched. Francis Lee, a 59-year-old director, found himself without a job after his company underwent restructuring. Despite having savings and a \"golden handshake\", Mr Lee could not afford to retire at this stage of his life and wanted to stay active. He spent months applying for jobs and taking courses in artificial intelligence, but only received one interview and no offers. Eventually, he began offering his consulting services to businesses and set up his own consultancy, APAC Edge.\n\nRahmat Mohamad, a 53-year-old creative production manager, was laid off from his job in December 2024. He took courses in desktop support engineering and data science using SkillsFuture funding, but despite 400 applications, he received no interviews. It was only through a referral that he returned to work in a lower-paying logistics role after more than a year of being retrenched. Both men emphasized the importance of staying positive and continuously upgrading skills to navigate the challenges of re-entering the workforce.",
  "summary": "Older workers are taking longer to bounce back after being retrenched. Three of them tell CNA what it took to get back into the workforce.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "Retrenched in their 50s: The long road back to work for older workers",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/retrenched-in-their-50s-the-long-road-back-to-work-for-older-workers",
        "published": "2026-10-21T22:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}