Around 20,000 Bangladesh garment workers laid off in 6 months

Bangladesh RMG factory workers, mass layoffs of 20,000 garment staff in half a year

Official Layoff Data Overview

First of all, statistics from Industrial Police, BGMEA and BKMEA show at least 20,000 RMG workers were retrenched in the first six months this year. Official data for the first five months recorded 7,784 layoffs across 79 factories in eight industrial zones. Savar-Ashulia and Gazipur hosted most of the closed factories.

Factory Owners’ Main Reasons for Staff Cuts

Meanwhile, garment factory bosses blame shrinking overseas orders and limited bank financing. US reciprocal tariffs, fierce European competition and Iran conflict also hurt export volumes. Without order recovery, factory closures and layoffs will continue.

Labor Leaders’ Different Viewpoints

On the other hand, labor representatives disagree that export orders dropped sharply. They state many workers are fired for trying to establish trade unions. Export data only saw a minor year-on-year decline last fiscal year.

Bangladesh RMG Export Performance Data

Furthermore, EPB figures record $39.35 billion garment exports in FY 2024–25 with 8.84% growth. Yet exports fell 3.41% year-on-year in the first 11 months of the fiscal cycle. Mixed export results put huge pressure on local factory operation.

New Labor Law & Industry Overall Outlook

In addition, the 2025 Labour Amendment lowered union founding threshold from 20% staff to 20 workers. BGMEA president admits actual layoff numbers may exceed 19,000 due to unreported cases. Though some factories shut down, new plants keep emerging to stabilize total export value.