Abstract

This study focused on age discrimination and opportunities for the employment of old-age workers by trying to answers two research questions: 1) Does age discrimination persist in the Thai automotive industry? and 2) Are there any opportunities for the employment of old-age workers in the Thai automotive industry? If yes, how might the employment of old-age workers be encouraged? Qualitative research methodology was employed by using constructivist ontology and interpretive epistemology. The grounded theory strategy was addressed in this study. Thirty-two key informants were selected by using theoretical sampling and snowball sampling methods. The findings revealed that the perception of elderly workers can be categorized in two ways: positive and negative. The negative stereotypes contribute to age discrimination. This is because not every old-age worker can resume his or her work. Their age and negative perceptions are the core obstacles during the first step of employment. The opportunities for elderly employment in this study is only for those who are considered as healthy persons holding the required competency, having a good attitude toward the companies, and willing to work longer. Thus, only some elderly who hold such qualifications are eligible to be employed.