The textile and textile products (TPT) industry is appealing to the government for help as it faces imminent layoffs from decreased cash flows and declining demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indonesian Synthetic Fiber Producers Association (APSyFI) secretary-general Redma Gita Wirawasta said that increasing garment imports would also leave domestic producers with an even smaller slice of shrinking market due to COVID-19.

“We want the government to provide solutions [...] on how this small market can be given entirely to domestic producers to keep running. Because if such actions are not executed and we don’t have a market anymore, layoffs are not impossible," he cautioned on Monday during a teleconference with industry stakeholders.

Yet garment imports are among a slew of issues that are threatening jobs in the industry, which has been hit hard by the ...