Until a year ago, Mohammad Enayet Ullah earned Tk15,000 a month at S Alam Bag Factory in Chattogram after nine years on the factory floor. Today, he pedals a rented rickshaw, struggling to support his family after losing his job.
His own rickshaw was stolen, forcing him to rent one daily. On some days, he cannot earn enough to cover the rental cost.
Enayet’s experience reflects the wider impact of prolonged production disruptions across S Alam Group’s factories, where thousands of workers have been laid off and a once-busy industrial zone has fallen silent.
Standing before the locked gates of S Alam Bag Factory in Moizzartek, Karnaphuli upazila, on Saturday, Enayet said production stopped after July 2024. The company continued paying salaries for several months before laying off workers about a year ago.
“The bag factory had around 350 workers. Today everyone is scattered. Unemployment has increased in the area, and incidents of theft have also risen,” he said.
Mohammad Sajib, a former worker at S Alam’s SS Composite Factory in Anwara, has faced a similar fate. After two years without a factory job, he now pulls a rickshaw.
“Some are driving rickshaws, others are working as construction labourers. Many have no work at all. We only want the factories to reopen,” he said.
The company has not announced permanent closure of employment, leaving many laid-off workers dependent on informal jobs while waiting for operations to resume.
A visit to the S Alam industrial zone in Moizzartek found locked factory gates, idle production lines and security personnel guarding facilities that once employed thousands.
Production has remained suspended for an extended period at several units, including edible oil, vegetable oil, steel, cement and bag manufacturing factories.
S Alam Bag Factory Security Officer Jamshed Alam said production at almost all factories under the group has stopped. The remaining workers at the sugar factory were laid off on Friday, while the bag factory officially halted operations on 16 July.
The bag factory’s workforce fell from around 350 workers to about 80 through three rounds of layoffs before the remaining employees were released. Around 100 security personnel are now deployed across S Alam factories in Moizzartek to protect the facilities.
Idle factories, shrinking workforce
At the S Alam Vegetable Oil Factory, production has remained suspended for nearly three years.
Mohammad Zahid, acting security in-charge of the factory, said operations stopped shortly after he joined four years ago. The plant once employed around 170 workers and employees, but only 18 security guards now remain.
“We have received no information about when production could resume,” he said.
The same situation exists at S Alam Steel Mills and other factories in Moizzartek. Security guard Abdul Mabud said the steel mill briefly resumed operations but stopped again, leaving only six guards at the facility.
The prolonged shutdown has also affected nearby businesses. Residents said shops have lost customers and many workers have left rented homes after losing income.
The crisis began after the political transition in 2024, when S Alam Group faced financial pressure. On 24 December 2024, the company announced the indefinite closure of all nine factories, which employed around 13,000 workers and staff at the time.
The factories reopened in early January 2025, raising hopes among workers. However, the company failed to restore full-scale production due to a severe shortage of raw materials. Operations gradually declined before eventually stopping across the group.
The group’s office at Asadganj in Chattogram city was also found closed during a visit.
Industrial Police-3 Chattogram Superintendent of Police Mahmuda Begum said S Alam authorities did not formally notify police in writing about worker layoffs. She said some workers had outstanding wages and the company cleared dues of a section of employees on Friday.
Nearly 6,000 workers laid off across 11 factories
S Alam Group has laid off nearly 6,000 workers from 11 factories as financial difficulties and production disruptions continue to affect operations.
The group’s workforce has now been reduced largely to security personnel, warehouse staff and maintenance engineers responsible for protecting facilities and essential equipment.
S Alam Refined Sugar Industries Ltd Engineer Hasmat Ali said the group’s 11 factories normally employed 7,000 to 8,000 workers and staff.
With production almost fully suspended, only security guards, warehouse personnel and 15 to 18 maintenance engineers remain, while around 6,000 workers and employees have been laid off.
S Alam Refined Sugar Mills previously employed around 700 workers. About 100 employees were laid off two to three months ago, while the remaining workforce of around 450 employees is now being released in phases.
The company has assured workers that gratuity and statutory dues will be paid. Workers of S Alam Refined Sugar Mills alone are expected to receive around Tk5 crore in gratuity, while total gratuity and legal dues for employees laid off from all 11 factories are estimated at Tk20 crore to Tk30 crore.
Sugar mill employees are scheduled to receive their dues by 6 August, while payments for workers from other factories are expected to be completed between 15 August and 21 August, Hasmat said.
He added that the company is also settling outstanding dues of employees who resigned or whose employment ended one to one-and-a-half years ago.
