India: Textile industry workers lose jobs as rupee hits hard

BANGALORE: This Dusshera, garment factory workers in Tirupur are getting a generous fortnight off. All these years, factory owners frowned upon any leave more than the standard two-three days. But there's not much reason to celebrate this Diwali. The leave is an indication of the slump in demand at the garment factories that drive the economy of this town.
With the appreciation of the rupee showing no signs of slowing down, the textile industry has been badly hit. "This is the first time that something like this is happening," says R Sivaram, executive director of Tirupur-based Royal Classic Mills.
In Tirupur alone, at least 15,000 people have been estimated to have lost jobs and more are on their way out. "We are still holding on. But with the trend continuing this way, I don't know how long we'll be able to pull through," says a glum Sivaram.
Bangalore too, which has over 6.5 lakh people employed in this industry, has been seeing effects in the small and medium sector. "Around 30,000 people — mostly women — have lost employment. If this trend continues, about one lakh will lose their jobs," says N M Muddappa, president of Karnataka Labour Organisation.
To add to their woes, demand from the US — the main export market for most garment exporters — has slowed down. "Orders have reduced since the US economy is not doing that well. India is also losing orders to Vietnam, China, Sri Lanka and even countries like Burma, which weren't even considered competition, because of the rupee rise," says Rajendra Hinduja, executive director of one of the largest garment exporters, Gokaldas Exports.
"Major firms and those who manufacture fabric have retained business. But the rest are refusing orders since their wafer-thin margins have gone down further," says Sunder Belani, director, (textile machinery manufacturer), Ramsons. var RN = new String (Math.random()); var RNS = RN.substring (2,11); var b2 = ' '; if (doweshowbellyad==1) bellyad.innerHTML = b2;