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Layoffs hit Vietnam textile-garment workers hardest: Textile and garment workers make up most workers discharged in the first five months of the year due to difficult economic conditions.
Attending a National Assembly meeting on 04 June, 2023, Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said nearly 2,80,000 lost jobs in the first five months.
Layoffs hit Vietnam textile-garment workers hardest
Of them,70,000 were workers in the textile and garment industry, followed by electronic components with 45,000, and footwear with 31,600.
During the period, 17,000 laborers were let go without any compensation, and textile-garment accounted for most of these with 5,000 laborers.
Localities where laborers were discharged the most were Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh and Hai Duong, all homes to Vietnam’s major industrial hubs.
Textile-garment is also the field where workers reduced working hours the most, with 66,600, followed by footwear with 66,100.
In the five-month period, more than 8,600 companies cut jobs. A total of 27% were foreign-invested firms, and 72% private companies.
Dung explained that the mass layoff had taken place due to a lack of orders resulting from global economic difficulties, high inflation, and tight monetary policy, as well as a decline in market demand for fashion and electronics.
He said that many businesses now had a lot of inventory that they could not export, while new orders were not arriving.
Vietnam’s Textile Market
Vietnam, though a small country, is a large player in the textile industry. They are known specifically for their ready to wear clothing which is cheaper than what China offers. They pay their people less, which results in cheaper prices for exports. However, due to their size and weather Vietnam does not grow a lot of the cotton that they use, instead they import it from China and the US.
