The American Samoa Power Authority has not ruled out the possibility of reduction of working hours instead of layoffs early next year as the ASG semi autonomous agency has accumulated too much debt — accounts payables — over the years.

While the total number of employees to be laid off was not immediately clear nor the actual date of the layoff, ASPA Executive Director Utu Abe Malae told Samoa News early last week that ASPA is planning to cut about $150,000 per month from its payroll, and goods and services.

“The employees themselves have suggested ways to meet the cuts: reduce hours, sell off dead stock, pre-pay fuel suppliers for steep discounts, implement progressive pay cuts, etc.,” Utu said.

And during last Friday’s cabinet meeting Utu told Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga, Lt. Gov. Lemanu Peleti Mauga and cabinet members that he is “sorry” for the announcement of “our pending reduction in force” and the move is “an economic decision.” He added, “It may actually not be a reduction in force but the cutting back of hours.”

Utu says management and staff have held discussions through “town hall meetings” in order to gain new ideas to meet ASPA’s obligations, especially with the pending indefinite shutdown on Dec. 11 of Samoa Tuna Processors Inc.’s canning operations, that will result in a loss of revenues for ASPA.

He pointed out also that the Authority owes unpaid bills to its vendors.

“It’s a burden on myself, personally and professionally, to owe so much money to our vendors,” the ASPA executive director said. “It’s not a good feeling to always be two, three, four, five months behind in paying our vendors. We need to catch up.”

“In about several months, we’ll catch up in paying our vendors and our suppliers,” Utu stated firmly, adding that American Samoa is now in the cyclone season and ASPA has a lot of supplies, which normally arrive this time of the year in preparation for the cyclone season, but  supplies “have been delayed” because of the high debt owed to suppliers and vendors.

“The question is — how did this happen? It happened over a number of years, but we recognize that this was a problem two and half years ago, so what we did [at the time] was offer severance packages [to employees],” he said. “Unfortunately there was not enough savings with the severance package.”

Utu told Samoa News last week that 12 years ago, the number of ASPA employees was fewer than 300; while in 2012 it was close to 500 and now it is about 440. “Yet the sales to the canneries were higher in the past than now,” he pointed out.

Utu, who returned to being ASPA boss in 2013, provided similar information to the cabinet meeting, adding that there are also problems with grant reimbursements and accounting.

He noted that it was thought at first that ASPA’s accounts payables were around $8.5 million or $9 million, but when all invoices were discovered in desks and other places,  as well as trucking companies bringing in their unpaid invoices going back to 2012 and 2013, “accounts payable reached $14 million.”

“And now it has dropped down to $8 million, but still we can’t catch up in paying ASPA’s debts. So, we’re trying to avoid any layoffs. We’ll probably cut some hours as we try to meet our obligations,” he said and thanked ASPA employees “for their understanding.”

In closing Utu apologize to Lolo and Lemanu as well as cabinet directors for being the bearer of bad news to the meeting.