It is reported that the 35-year-old “Aqua Packaging” institute in Wattala area has been closed down.
When asked about the closure of this factory, which provided employment to a large number of workers, the management of the institution refused to give reasons and some people say that the unexpected increase in the cost of production has severely affected this sector.
In addition, it is reported that it has been decided to close two factories located in the Mihintale area belonging to the “Mass Holdings” group, which has been considered the largest garment exporting company in Sri Lanka for almost 36 years.
Along with this decision, nearly a thousand people who worked there will lose their jobs and the authorities have informed the employees and announced that the relevant garment factories will be temporarily closed for 4 months. Also, according to some reports, the authorities of the institutions have declared that they will pay the salaries to the employees for the relevant 4 months.
In this regard, the garment manufacturers have mentioned that the usual non-receipt of orders for garment products has led to the temporary closure of the factories.
They further stated that the instability of the dollar caused by the financial crisis in Sri Lanka has directly affected the garment industry in Sri Lanka.
Some have stated that these institutions are closing down not because of the lack of orders received for them, but because of the increase in the price of services including electricity in Sri Lanka and the increase in the cost of manufacturing garments in Sri Lanka.
Apart from this, it is also reported that the manufacturers are taking related orders to their own factories outside of Sri Lanka where the cost is lower and they are closing down the loss making factories in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan apparel manufacturing company Mass Holdings is the largest underwear manufacturer in South Asia and was founded in 1987 by Mahesh, Sherad and Ajay Amaleen. Accordingly, its name was “Maas” derived from the initials of the three brothers. Mass Holdings is a conglomerate with 53 manufacturing facilities in 17 countries and employs over 93,000 people globally.
