Data shows 20,000 Bangladesh RMG workers laid off in first half 2026

This information from the Industrial Police, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) was reported by the Bangladesh daily, Prothom Alo.

The study highlights a rising inclination of mill closures and occupation losses, with garment manufacturers and labour leaders offering antithetic explanations for the situation.

According to the newspaper, occupation losses person centred connected the RMG sector, which plays a cardinal relation successful Bangladesh's export industry.

Garment mill owners and manufacturers attributed the occupation cuts to a diminution successful export orders and challenges securing slope finance, which they said were forcing immoderate factories to adjacent permanently, portion others resorted to layoffs.

Labour national representatives, however, questioned the standard of immoderate driblet successful export orders. They argued that garment exports had lone fallen somewhat successful the outgoing fiscal twelvemonth and suggested that immoderate dismissals had targeted workers attempting to found commercialized unions wrong factories.

In fiscal 2024–25, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) information showed that garment exports totalled $39.35bn, which represented an 8.84% increase.

However, during the archetypal 11 months of the fiscal year, exports amounted to $35.31bn, down 3.41% from the aforesaid play a twelvemonth ago.

Citing Industrial Police figures, Prothom Alo stated that successful the archetypal 5 months of the year, 79 factories crossed 8 concern zones laid disconnected 7,784 workers.

Notably, the highest numbers of layoffs occurred successful March and May, periods that coincided with the Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha holidays.

In the archetypal fractional of the year, BGMEA stated that 80 of its subordinate factories retrenched oregon dismissed 19,188 workers. This included 18 factories successful Dhaka, 22 successful Savar-Ashulia, and 40 successful Gazipur.

Of these, Prothom Alo wrote, 27 factories person since closed, portion the remainder are inactive operating.

Further figures from Industrial Police, arsenic cited successful the quality report, showed that 44 factories successful Gazipur unsocial dismissed 2,155 workers from January to June.

Seven of those factories, among them APS Apparels and Evince Textile, attributed their layoffs, which totalled 556 workers, to a simplification successful export orders and fiscal difficulties.

Owners of 37 different factories listed reasons specified arsenic labour unrest, accumulation stoppage, alleged misconduct, and suspected papers forgery for a further 1,599 dismissals.

Salahuddin Swapan, erstwhile caput wide of the Industrial Bangladesh Council, told Prothom Alo that immoderate workers had been dismissed for participating successful national activities, noting the ineligible process for forming unions was precocious eased.