TDS Desk:

More than 3,000 workers were once employed at the 100 per cent export-oriented Mukul Knitwear Limited factory in Nilnagar of Konabari, Gazipur Metropolitan City. As the global economic slowdown and a shortage of work orders began to take their toll, production at the factory gradually declined. Even so, its founder, Md Moinul Islam Mukul, kept the factory running with 670 workers, having built it up painstakingly over time. In the end, however, it could not be saved.

Faced with rising production costs and a severe financial crisis, the authorities were forced to announce the permanent closure of the factory on 17 December. Md Sharif Hossain, a quality inspector at the now-closed factory, told journalists that the factory has shut down, leaving 280 male and 390 female workers unemployed. The livelihoods of these workers’ families have become uncertain.

According to local Industrial Police sources, this is not an isolated case. Over the past one and a half years, since 5 August 2024, a total of 327 small and large factories have been closed either permanently or temporarily in Gazipur, Savar and Ashulia.

Of these, by 21 January, 188 factories in Gazipur alone had been shut down permanently or temporarily, rendering 115,379 workers unemployed. Among them, 90,760 workers and employees lost their jobs due to permanent factory closures.

Industrial Police data further show that, following the political transition, 139 factories have closed in Savar and Ashulia over the past one and a half years. Nearly 40,000 workers from these factories have become unemployed.

Sources said that well-known factories closed in Gazipur include 13 units of Beximco, Dard Composite in Sreepur, Season Dresses in the Khapara area of Tongi, Polycon Limited, Textile Fashion, Standard Ceramic, Classic Fashion, La-Muni Apparels, Lease Fashion of the Nasa Group, Swadhin Garments and Mickif Apparels—many of them members of the BGMEA.

Local sources reported that around 90 per cent of the unemployed workers remain without jobs, while others have changed professions.

Some are now pulling rickshaws, others working as day labourers, and some have even drifted into criminal activities. The closure of factories has also had a knock-on effect on other local businesses.

Md Rustam Ali (48), a senior supervisor at Lease Apparels—which shut down on 25 September—and a resident of Palashbari in Gaibandha, said: “Lease Apparels was one of the country’s leading factories. I felt proud to work there. I never worried about not receiving my salary—wages and allowances were deposited into our bank accounts on fixed dates. The working environment was also very good. But everything changed from April 2024. Since the factory closed, I see nothing but darkness ahead when I think about how my family will survive.”

Md Idris Molla, a landlord in the Chakrabarti area of Kashimpur in Gazipur Metropolitan City, said that house rent had been the main source of income for most people in the area. Around 28,000 workers and employees of Beximco had lived there with their families as tenants. Markets, shops and other businesses had grown around the workers. After the factories closed, most workers returned to their villages, leaving homes and business premises vacant. Many landlords had taken bank loans to build rental houses, and are now facing losses as they are unable to find tenants.

Md Ashrafuzzaman, Central Organising Secretary of the National Garment Workers’ Alliance Bangladesh, said that while factories are closing one after another in the Gazipur industrial area, no new factories are being established. Thousands of workers are losing their jobs due to closures, and even in operating factories, workers are being laid off daily. Unemployed garment workers have turned to driving auto-rickshaws, running small businesses and other occupations. Many have returned to their villages, while others remain in Gazipur and have taken up tailoring, running clothing shops or similar work. Overall, Gazipur’s workers’ settlements are going through an extremely difficult time.

Gazipur Industrial Police Superintendent Md Amjad Hossain said that over the 17 months from August 2024 to 24 January this year, small and large factories in Gazipur have been permanently shut down, leaving workers and employees unemployed. The most recent closure was Base Fashion Limited, which shut down permanently on 21 January. Due to the energy crisis, lack of cooperation from the banking sector, political instability, lack of work, cancellation of orders, frequent labour unrest and vandalism, along with various global crises, garment factories in Gazipur are closing one after another. This has resulted in mass unemployment, with negative impacts on local businesses, housing rents and other financial sectors.

139 FACTORIES CLOSED IN SAVAR–ASHULIA

As factories continue to shut down, silence has descended over the industrial zones of Savar and Ashulia. With no jobs, workers are unable to pay house rent or settle shop debts. Many have been forced to return home, while others are changing professions.

Shafiqul Rahman, a grocery shop owner at Burir Bazar in Ashulia, described the situation: “I used to sell goods worth Tk10,000 to Tk15,000 every day. Now it’s down to Tk3,000 or Tk4,000. Workers are no longer around in Savar and Ashulia like before.”

Industrial Police and local sources said that since the political transition, 139 factories have closed in Savar and Ashulia over the past one and a half years—67 permanently and 72 temporarily. Most of the nearly 40,000 workers from these factories are now unemployed.

Factories that have permanently closed include Generation Next Fashion Limited, The Dresses and the Ideas Limited, Bashundhara Garments Limited, Chain Apparels Limited, Nasa Group, South China Group and Ethical Garments Limited. Temporarily closed factories include Singer Refrigerator Limited, Singer Electronics, FRM Fashion House Limited, Hilton Apparels Limited, Dhaka E Sanghasira Limited, Jeisa Fashion Limited, Fraulein Fashion Limited, Mulnax Composite Knit Garments Limited, Inside Knit Composite Limited, Rangdhanu Spinning Mills Limited and Monika Apparels Limited.

Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, Superintendent of Police of Industrial Police-1, said that due to financial crises, layoffs and a lack of work—along with rising production costs—139 factories in Savar and Ashulia have shut down over the past one and a half years.

Aleya Akhter, a garment worker from the now-closed Nasa Group, has been unemployed for four months. “I’ve gone around many factories but haven’t found any work,” she said. “Some days we eat one meal and go hungry the next.” Her husband sometimes drives a rickshaw and sometimes works as a construction helper, but even there work is irregular.

Local residents said many unemployed workers, unable to find jobs and support their families, are becoming involved in criminal activities, increasing instability in the area. Khairul Mamun Mintu, Legal Affairs Secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Sweaters Workers Trade Union Centre, said that factory closures are leaving workers jobless, and many are being pushed in the wrong direction out of sheer necessity.

Abdul Hakim, a landlord in Jamgora, Ashulia, said: “Nearly a hundred rooms in my two buildings used to be rented by garment workers. When the factories were operating, these rooms were never empty. Now, with so many nearby factories closed, most of the rooms are vacant. Without jobs, the workers are returning to their villages.”