Mass layoffs hit Yangon garment sector as foreign brands pull out and economic crisis deepens

Workers at the Spring Moon Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd protested over daily wage increases in Yangon’s Hlaingtharyar Township Industrial Zone 4,on Aug. 12. (Credit: STUM)

Over 1,000 employees at the Sunrise (Myanmar) Fashion Co. Ltd garment factory in Yangon’s Shwepyitha Township Thardukan Industrial Zone 4 are among the estimated 60,000 garment factory workers to be laid off this month.

“The management and the workers are still negotiating for severance pay depending on how many years they worked for the company,” a worker told DVB on the condition of anonymity, adding that the 1,000 workers will be laid off by Oct. 22.

Sunrise (Myanmar) Fashion Co. Ltd, owned by a Chinese national, manufactures apparel for Japan’s Burtle, Zerostage and Closshi brands. Factory management confirmed to labour rights groups that it will provide workers compensation based on the length of employment.

Garment workers in Yangon told DVB that their daily wages, which is around 10,000 MMK ($2.22 USD), are insufficient due to increasing prices of basic commodities.