Pacific Jeans is set to demolish an ageing factory building in the Chattogram Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) over safety concerns, leaving 509 workers without jobs on Saturday as the company began releasing employees in phases.
The workers received their full dues and experience certificates to help them find new jobs. Decisions on the remaining workforce, estimated at around 4,500, will be taken gradually.
Industrial Police-3 (Chattogram) Superintendent of Police Mahamuda Begum told TIMES of Bangladesh that the building had deteriorated with age. The RCC identified safety risks in a report submitted about a year ago.
Around 5,000 workers were employed at the factory. Mahamuda said those released could receive priority for employment if production resumed in a new building. The remaining workers would be released in phases following discussions with management.
CEPZ Executive Director Md Shariful Islam said the building also failed to meet buyers’ compliance requirements during audits, prompting the decision to replace it with a modern facility.
He said workers would receive their dues under government regulations, while efforts would be made to find them jobs at other factories within the EPZ.
Construction and the resumption of production could take a year or longer, Shariful said. The new facility was expected to create employment opportunities, although management would have to confirm a reopening date.
According to the Pacific Jeans Group website, the company began operations in 1984 and runs 10 units in the Chattogram EPZ, employing around 35,000 people. The affected Pacific Jeans Limited factory opened in 1994.
For many workers, Saturday marked an emotional farewell to colleagues and a workplace they had known for years.
A video shared on Facebook showed employees from the factory’s cutting section bidding farewell, some in tears. Others posted memories of their time at the factory.
Worker Liton Howlader described the pain of leaving behind years of shared experiences and close colleagues.
“My heart wants me to stay, but circumstances and reality are forcing me to leave. I will cherish your affection and love deep in my heart for the rest of my life,” he wrote on Facebook.
Amid social media speculation that Pacific Jeans was shutting down, company Managing Director Syed M Tanvir dismissed the claims as rumours.
“Some Facebook posts have created confusion,” he told TIMES.
