22 Ctg garment factories shut in a year

 
Chattogram has seen nearly 22 garment factories shut down over the past year following the shift in Bangladesh's political landscape, leaving thousands of workers without jobs.

Factory owners say the sector is going through one of its toughest periods yet, and they see little sign of recovery ahead.

According to a list compiled by the Chattogram Industrial Police, around 22 factories across the city and the Chattogram EPZ have ceased operations in the past year. Eleven of them shut down this year, affecting more than 5,000 workers, bdnews24 reports.

Assistant Superintendent of Industrial Police Jasim Uddin said the shutdowns resulted from financial distress, complications over letters of credit (LC) and a sharp fall in export orders.

He added that most workers from the closed factories have been paid their dues.

Industry insiders, however, say the actual number of closures may be higher than reflected in the list, as many small subcontracting workshops that depend on work from large factories have also stopped operations due to the lack of orders.

Worker unrest has also forced some factories in Chattogram to suspend operations temporarily.

On Oct 14 and 15, worker agitation at several units of Pacific Jeans Group inside the Chattogram EPZ led the company to shut eight factories for an indefinite period. They reopened on Thursday.

Industrial Police records show 315 incidents of worker unrest reported at 70 factories in Chattogram over the past year.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) says 699 of its member factories are registered in Chattogram. Of them, 610 are officially operational, but only 348 are currently running production.

Four of the permanently closed factories are located in the Chattogram EPZ, including Toy Woods (BD) Co Ltd and MNC Apparels Ltd, owned by the Nassa Group, as well as Thianis Apparels Ltd and JMS Garments Ltd.

These four factories previously employed 4,818 workers, while at the other factories, roughly 4,000 workers lost jobs.

Financial losses, LC complications and dwindling orders were identified as causes for the NASSA Group shutdowns, while the closures of Thianis Apparels and JMS Garments were attributed to the owners' financial crisis.

NASSA Group Chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumder was arrested in Gulshan on Oct 2 last year following the political transition. He had served as chairman of the Bangladesh Association of Banks since 2009 and is currently facing several corruption and money laundering cases.

SM Abu Tayyab, former first vice-president of BGMEA, said survival has become "very difficult" for garment factories in the current global context.

"If a factory does not have strong compliance, it cannot survive. The buying-house-dependent factories were already struggling. After the US tariff announcement, orders dropped sharply, prices fell… overall, the industry is going through a rough patch," he told bdnews24.com.

He pointed out that Chattogram factories are particularly affected because they produce more goods for the American market. With the new US tariff, there is no profit margin left. While the large compliant factories may still survive, the smaller ones cannot.

According to Tayyab, factory owners are in severe distress and forced to close due to the lack of orders.

He does not expect any improvement this year. Only if the global geopolitical tensions ease and economic stability returns could the garment sector revive, he added.

30 OTHER FACTORIES CLOSE

The Industrial Police data shows that 50 factories of different categories, including the 22 garment factories, have shut down permanently in Chattogram over the past year. Another 67 factories have been closed temporarily.

More than 8,000 workers have lost their jobs in the permanently shut factories, while around 43,000 workers have been affected by temporary closures.

The list of permanently closed factories includes two companies under Aramit Group, owned by the family of former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury: Aramit Thai Aluminium Ltd and Aramit Power Ltd.

Moreover, 13 shipbreaking yards have also closed down, according to the Industrial Police.