More overseas Filipino workers are at risk of losing their jobs in Taiwan as the global financial crisis affect's Taiwan's manufacturing and export sectors, an official of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office said Saturday.

MECO managing director Antonio Basilio said reduced export demand from Taiwan's top export markets -- the United States and Japan -- has resulted in massive layoffs with close to 400 OFWs already losing their jobs.

"These 400 OFWs all come from three export-oriented companies that have closed down after their clients in the US and Japan reduced demand. We just made sure that these workers got their back wages and return fare back home," Basilio said in a radio dzMM interview.

He added that while most of the retrenched workers have gone home, some have opted to stay and look for jobs after Taiwanese officials allotted a $2 million budget to pump-prime the economy through more infrastucture projects.

"We asked them to prioritize Pinoys in these new infrastructure projects," he said.

Basilio said he expects more factories in Taiwan to lay-off workers as the global financial crisis affects export demand. He said Filipino workers who want to work in Taiwan should ensure that they have "long term contracts in viable companies."

There are more than 90,000 Filipinos working in Taiwan, according to figures from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).