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Not all doom and gloom for RI garment makers despite export woes
Despite an alarming trend of layoffs and shutdowns in the textile sector, some players are expecting positive results this year.
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A worker produces clothes in a garment factory in Bergas, Semarang regency, Central Java, in May 2018. (Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)
R
ecent mass layoffs and even factory shutdowns at textile and garment makers in the country have raised concerns about the state of the industry as consumers in key importing markets tighten their belts.
However, reduced demand from abroad is not affecting all companies the same, with some still reporting strong earnings, and the government is keen to depict the industry’s current hardship as temporary.
PT Tuntex Garment Indonesia, a garment manufacturer in Tangerang regency, Banten, informed the regional government it had stopped production on March 31, leaving more than 1,100 employees jobless.
"The factory was closed down due to drop-in orders from the United States and Europe, the company’s biggest markets. Orders [from those regions] have been declining for the past three years," said, head of the Tangerang Manpower Office, as quoted by Tempo.
Tuntex Garment's main products were shirts, shorts and jackets for Germany-based sport apparel brand Puma, most of which were exported to meet the needs in the European market.
The firm is not the sole local victim of plummeting international demand. The Indonesian Textile Association (API) registered more than 58,000 layoffs nationwide between July and October last year. According to Statistics Indonesia, the sector employed around 1.1 million workers in 2020.
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