Published : 28 Feb 2025, 01:30 AM
As many as 14 factories of the Textiles and Apparel Division at Beximco Industrial Park in Gazipur’s Sarabo area have been declared completely shut, with all workers laid off.
The layoff notice, signed by the company’s managing director, specifies that the announcement will take effect from Friday.
It also said workers will receive their dues from Mar 9 under Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006.
Gazipur Industrial Police Superintendent AKM Zahirul Islam said there was no worker unrest in the factory area following the announcement.
He added that the situation remained peaceful with additional police deployed.
Uncertainty has gripped Beximco Group’s companies since the fall of the Awami League government on Aug 5.
The group’s Vice Chairman Salman F Rahman, was the private industry and investment advisor to deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
His arrest and subsequent imprisonment disrupted the company’s daily operations, while many of its directors have gone into hiding.
Amid the upheaval, Beximco Group companies have struggled to maintain financial stability.
With numerous accounts frozen, the company has been unable to secure letters of credit, and banks have stopped disbursing funds.
The resulting cash crunch has led to repeated protests by employees demanding overdue wages.
Against this backdrop, the interim government formed an 11-strong Advisory Council Committee on Nov 24, 2024, to review the labour and trade situation at Beximco Industrial Park.
The committee is headed by Labour and Employment Advisor M Sakhawat Hussain.
Arrangements have been made to pay arrears totalling Tk 5.25 billion to 31,669 workers and 1,565 officials affected by the shutdowns, the advisor told journalists on Thursday morning.