CHENG LOONG

Human Resources Strategy: Realizing Global Localization of Key Talent

CLC prioritizes talent development by maintaining a competitive compensation system and comprehensive training framework to attract skilled professionals. Talent selection is guided by the principle of sincerity and trustworthiness, focusing on candidates who align with the company's culture, vision, and core values to meet workforce needs for domestic and international expansion and sustainable operations.

Employees are key to sustainable operations. Focusing on long-term talent development, the company conducts real-time tracking of salary and labor market trends, aligning employee compensation and benefits with medium- and long-term development strategies and annual business performance. Compensation policies and systems are continuously optimized based on employee feedback to support sustainable prosperity for both employees and the company.

Enhancing Women's Representation

By the end of 2024, major operating sites in Taiwan, Mainland China, and Vietnam employed 6,785 people (+34 YoY). The Taiwan Parent Company had 3,627 employees, including 2,073 frontline staff, 1,406 management, and 148 locally hired senior executives; total headcount in Taiwan decreased by 53 compared to the previous year. Due to the characteristics of the papermaking industry, the proportion of male employees remained higher; however, recruitment of female employees continued in production, R&D, marketing, and digitalization management. In 2024, female employees accounted for 13.4% in the Taiwan area and 22.2% in the Consolidated Company. Recruitment, employment, and development were based on work capability, with equal treatment regardless of nationality, gender, ethnicity, religion, skin color, age, sexual orientation, marital status, or political affiliation. No discrimination incidents occurred in 2024.

*Note: Senior executives are first-level unit supervisors

Value Human Rights and Development Diversity

“Through fair and open recruitment channels, all employees are entitled to equal
rights and benefits regardless of gender, race, and nationality, in order to protect basic human rights.”

Human Rights: Diversity and Inclusion

CLC complies with local labor laws at all domestic and overseas business locations, is committed to protecting the basic human rights of all employees, and supports the core principles of international conventions. The CLC Human Rights Policy ensures fair and dignified treatment for all personnel, including diversity, inclusion, anti-discrimination, prohibition of forced labor, and a ban on child labor. CLC strictly prohibits child labor, verifies applicant information during recruitment, and has established procedures to address any illegal employment of child labor. Relevant requirements are included in the New Employee Recruitment Implementation Guidelines.

Strengthening Employee Education and Inclusive Workplace Mechanisms

CLC disseminates human rights information to employees through the EIP internal website, internal publications, and the E-Learning system. In 2024, key topics included workplace unlawful infringement and prevention and handling of workplace bullying. Emphasizing workplace equality and communication, CLC continues to hold relevant seminars and advance the Friendly Workplace Initiative, including revisions to the Sexual Harassment Prevention Measures and Complaint and Disciplinary Procedures. From 2021 to 2024, a total of 5 in-person courses (18 sessions) and 1 online course were conducted in the Taiwan area, with 2,510 participants. Course topics included personnel issues, effective communication, building a quality communication environment, and gender-friendly workplace seminars. CLC has also established mechanisms for workplace sexual harassment and corruption complaints, with an employee opinion mailbox and reporting channels for violations of ethical conduct available on the internal website.

Equal Opportunity and Inclusive Employment

CLC ensures equal employment opportunities for disadvantaged groups by complying with the People with Disabilities Rights Protection Act and the Indigenous Peoples Employment Rights Protection Act, providing appropriate positions for individuals with disabilities. In 2024, CLC employed 41 individuals with disabilities in the Taiwan area, meeting legal requirements, and hired 29 indigenous employees. To promote retention, a Long-term Service Bonus for Indigenous Employees was implemented at Taiwan mills/plants, awarded 24 times in 2024. CLC prioritizes hiring local employees at all domestic and overseas sites to enhance workforce stability. Where local recruitment was insufficient for certain production lines, foreign workers were introduced at Taiwan plants to maintain operational continuity.

Promoting Workforce Youth and Women's Advancement to Entry-level Management

The papermaking industry operates 24 hours, resulting in a predominantly male frontline supervisory structure, with a male-to-female ratio of 12.2:1 among team leaders. Although team leader is an entry-level management position, promotion previously required an average of 11 years of service. Since 2018, CLC has promoted 66 employees with less than 5 years of service to team leader, with women accounting for 10.6%. This has lowered the seniority threshold and improved gender balance, advancing a more inclusive management culture. CLC also supports external recognition of outstanding talent, demonstrating ongoing commitment to talent development and organizational optimization.

Human Rights Due Diligence & Management

Adhering to a people-oriented and diversity-respecting approach, CLC incorporates the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and International Labour Organization Core Labor Standards into sustainability governance and risk management. The CLC Human Rights Policy Management Guidelines ensure respect for the fundamental rights of all employees and stakeholders throughout operations.

*Note: For the complete Human Rights Policy, please refer to the CLC Website – Human Rights Policy 

Applicability and Retention

CLC determines compensation based on education, professional knowledge, technologies, and relevant experience. Transparent policies are in place for promotion, salary adjustment, external training, and talent pool recommendations to support management career development. Mid- and senior-level managers receive executive health checkups, medical subsidies, and vehicle purchase subsidies. In 2024, the Taiwan area hired 351 new employees, accounting for 9.4% of total staff; 9.4% were male and 11.5% were female.

*Note: For details on the age distribution and regional breakdown of new CLC employees, see Appendix – Employee Information List

People-oriented, Talent Optimization

Maintain a Healthy Turnover Rate to Drive Organizational Vitality

To sustain organizational vitality, CLC maintained a stable turnover rate of around 10% in recent years. In 2024, 418 employees left in the Taiwan area, with a Turnover Rate of 10.7% (male: 9.5%, female: 1.3%). The company addressed retirements and labor shortages by recruiting new employees through job fairs and academic collaboration, fostering workforce diversity and innovation.

To retain talent and reduce turnover impact, direct supervisors and the HR conduct interviews with employees submitting resignation applications, offering internal transfer opportunities and career guidance to support employee development and strengthen organizational stability and employee engagement.

Anonymous Survey on Resignation Reasons, Digitalization System for Risk Management

Since 2019, CLC has used an Online Anonymous Survey to collect feedback from departing employees on six key aspects, including job content, competency development, and work feedback, as a basis for management analysis and review. To date, 279 valid responses have been collected, providing data to support ongoing human resources policy improvements. In 2024, CLC used the Power BI Digitalization system to integrate and visualize group-wide employee departure and retirement data, enabling real-time tracking and early identification of potential turnover risks for timely response.

Re-employment of Senior Talent to Address Workforce Aging

CLC addressed labor shortages and an aging workforce by fostering a workplace culture that values experience and professional expertise. In 2024, 17 employees in the Taiwan area reached retirement age. Since 2018, 9 retired employees were rehired on short-term consultant contracts to support knowledge transfer and technologies, ensuring workforce continuity and adaptation to labor market changes.

Comprehensive Retirement System: Full Pension Funding

 CLC allocates pension funds to Bank of Taiwan trust and individual accounts in accordance with the Labor Standards Act and Labor Pension Act, and implements the Employee Retirement Implementation Guidelines. An actuarial firm conducts annual reviews of retirement reserve account balances to ensure sufficient funding. Supervisors present the "Meritorious Service to CLC" retirement gold medal to long-serving retirees. The old pension scheme funding met required standards and was approved by the New Taipei City Labor Affairs Department for temporary suspension of further contributions. CLC will continue to monitor account status to ensure employee retirement protection and long term welfare.

Listening to Employees
Digital HR – AI Assistant Mu Yu—Addresses Employee Needs

CLC collects employee feedback through multiple channels, including quarterly labor management meetings, the annual Employee Engagement Survey, new employee feedback collection, exit interviews, the corporate labor union, and anonymous communication channels on the EIP internal website. In 2024, the Information Department developed the AI Assistant - MuYu to provide real-time responses and support for employee needs, enabling more efficient issue resolution and communication.