Beximco lays off 5 more factories in Gazipur

It has been announced that five more units of Beximco Industrial Park will be laid off and workers will be laid off.

Nearly 8,000 workers will be affected due to the closure of these five manufacturing units in the industrial park in Gazipur.

The layoffs at Beximco Yarn-2, Textiles, Denim, Knitting and RR Washing will become effective today (Wednesday), according to layoff notices issued by the Beximco authorities yesterday.

The workers will be paid salaries as per the labour law: half of their basic salaries and some other benefits during the 45-day layoff period, the Beximco authorities said.

However, other units of the group, such as Yarn Unit-1 in Rupganj, will continue to operate.

The closure of these factories was also announced on the Dhaka Stock Exchange website on Wednesday (February 5) morning.

After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, the Beximco Group authorities announced the lay-off or closure of 16 factories in the Beximco Industrial Park from December 15 due to the lack of purchase orders for ready-made garment exports and the inability to open letters of credit for the import of raw materials.

Although the factories are closed, Janata Bank has provided loans to pay salaries and allowances for December and January as per the labor law. About 30,000 workers work in the closed factories of the Beximco Group, owned by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's advisor Salman F Rahman. Now, the number of closed factories has reached 21.

The latest development comes a week after the interim government announced that it would sell shares of Beximco Group's two running and profitable companies -- Beximco Pharmaceuticals and Shinepukur Ceramics -- to pay the salaries of the conglomerate's laid-off employees.

The conglomerate, which landed in hot water following the ouster of the Awami League-led government on August 5 last year, has more than Tk 40,000 crore in loans, including Tk 28,544 crore taken by its 32 textile and apparel subsidiaries.

Of those 32 factories, 16 exist only on paper. But the factories were used as collateral to take loans, said Labour and Employment Adviser M Sakhawat Hossain at a press briefing on January 28.

A large amount of the loans has been classified.

After yesterday’s announcement, no workers have come to the factory area since Wednesday morning. The atmosphere in the area is calm.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Abu Taleb of Gazipur Industrial Police told the closure decision has been effective from today (Wednesday). No workers have come to the factory area since morning. However, members of the law enforcement agencies, including the industrial police, are on alert for security in the factory area including Beximco.