Unique Designers & Unique Washing Ltd in Gazipur’s Board Bazar area has shut permanently, citing a financial crisis among other reasons. The closure leaves roughly 2,200 employees jobless, 1,700 of whom are factory-floor workers. The Industrial Police say the plant has been shut since June 16. A tripartite meeting with the owner decided that all legal dues, such as arrears and service benefits, would be cleared by July 27.

The closure is not an isolated case. Between August 2024 and this June, 457 factories shut permanently across the country’s seven industrial belts, according to data from industrial intelligence and related agencies. Of those, 205 closed for lack of orders and 190 because of owners’ financial distress — together 86.43 percent of the total. Labour unrest shut 11 factories, and a further 51 closed for reasons including political complications, bank-related difficulties, gas and power shortages, raw material scarcity and factory relocation.

An Industrial Police source says most closures follow the notice requirements of labour law, but the real strain comes from delays in settling workers’ dues. The legal notice procedure is observed, yet wages and service benefits often go unpaid on time, fuelling resentment and forcing local authorities to step in, according to the source. Where factory closures are not signalled in advance, sudden unrest makes the situation worse.

“Most factories are closing operations with notice under the labour law. The main problem is the delay in paying workers,” Industrial Police Additional IGP Gazi Jashim Uddin told Bonik Barta. “Many factories that serve notice still don’t pay wages and other entitlements properly. When commitments aren’t honoured by the deadline, worker unrest erupts.”

He added: “We try to resolve matters through talks between owners and workers. This isn’t our primary responsibility, but we have to do it to keep the situation under control. Without advance information, the situation often spirals.”

Bangladesh’s industrial zones hold 10,238 factories, according to industry data. Of these, 457 have shut permanently since August 2024: 124 in Ashulia out of 1,705; 155 in Gazipur out of 2,764; 119 in Chattogram out of 1,778; 38 in Narayanganj out of 1,960, eight in Mymensingh out of 293; six in Khulna out of 673; and seven in Cumilla out of 317. Sylhet recorded no permanent closures.

Workers of the closed Unique Designers & Unique Washing Ltd protesting at Board Bazaar in Gazipur

Sector figures show 108 closed factories were members of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, 35 belonged to the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and eight were with the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association — together 151 units, more than a third of the total, tied to the apparel and textile supply chain. Another 19 shut plants fell under the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority. The remaining 287 were unaffiliated.

Multiple industry sources say a long-running order shortfall and heavy production-cost pressure have eroded factory viability. Global demand uncertainty, higher raw material prices and rising domestic operating costs have added to the strain. The government has announced an incentive package to revive shuttered plants. BGMEA data show 322 factories — 199 fully closed and 123 partially closed — have sought the support. Their eligibility is now under scrutiny.

“The matter of factory closures is not one-dimensional,” BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan told Bonik Barta. “The reasons show minor variation but the data is largely accurate. Not all factories are shutting at once. Some are in crisis, others are fighting to survive. With the right support, some can be kept running — and that effort is underway.” A third-party audit is assessing the exact condition of the closed units, he said. “We are working to determine which factories can restart and which are in distress.”

Industry figures point to a confluence of pressures — global economic headwinds, bank credit contraction, fuel shortages, rising input costs and managerial weaknesses — that have made normal operations untenable. Orders are falling even as costs climb, making survival increasingly difficult.

The crisis forcing factory closures across Bangladesh has no single origin but is the result of long-running, multifaceted pressures, Bangladesh Chamber of Industries President Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez told Bonik Barta.

“An initial shortage of orders later morphed into a working capital crisis. Many factories couldn’t open letters of credit, which cut off raw material imports and disrupted production,” he said. “The industry has also felt the impact of global crises, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and inflation. The recent Middle East crisis has added to those pressures. Taken together, a range of factors has contributed to the factory closures.”

Industry analysts and experts say the wave of shutdowns and the broader manufacturing stagnation of recent years are not solely a story of financial frailty. Contracting market demand, policy uncertainty and structural weaknesses bear equal responsibility. The government has moved to revive genuinely distressed factories, but a blanket approach would be a mistake, they argue. The critical policy decision now is to identify which plants have a genuine chance of survival.

M Masrur Reaz, chairman and CEO of Policy Exchange Bangladesh, said he viewed the support effort positively. “Many businesses have been battered over the past three to four years by macroeconomic strains, post-COVID adjustments and political upheaval. With the right policy backing they could turn around,” he told Bonik Barta.

But he warned against untargeted assistance. “Factories that have been closed for years can’t be restarted with modest support; their machinery and infrastructure can’t be brought back into operation without a complete overhaul. Those shut more recently do have a recovery path — so targeting is essential. Genuine beneficiaries must be determined. Factories closed for political reasons also require a hard look at whether they can realistically resume,” Reaz said.

Any factory selected for assistance must first undergo a third-party audit, he added. “Their real condition and why they closed must be verified. Then a recovery roadmap must be drawn up and validated before any support is given.”