The textile industry in Indonesia is currently facing major challenges. Thousands of factories, both large and small, have been forced to close their operations or lay off thousands of workers. The General Chairperson of the Indonesian Filament Fiber & Yarn Producers Association (APSyFI), Redma Gita Wirawasta, revealed that this significant decline has had an impact on various levels of the industry, including medium and large factories and small garment factories.
According to Redma, up until this year, there have been 50 medium and large factories that have closed, and the number of small factories that have closed has even reached thousands. This condition is also exacerbated by the attitude of banks which are increasingly reluctant to provide loans to textile manufacturers. Banks consider this industry as a risky sector due to their inability to control the domestic market, let alone the export market. This has raised concerns about the company's stagnant cash flow, and ultimately has made many factories unable to survive.
The main problem is the weak competitiveness of textile products in the domestic market. Redma emphasized the importance of government intervention to help the textile industry control the domestic market. He added that without government support, banks would not have collateral to provide loans because many of the company's assets could not be maintained when the factory stopped operating. Even though the company's assets still exist, banks do not have the ability to manage them if taken over.
One of the most recent examples of mass layoffs occurred at a textile factory in Margaasih, Bandung Regency, West Java. This incident added to the number of workers who lost their jobs, which according to data from the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPN), has reached more than 15,000 people since the beginning of 2024. This condition reflects how serious the decline in the domestic textile sector is.
Going forward, Redma emphasized that the first step that needs to be taken is to dominate the domestic market before expanding to the export market. Increasing the competitiveness of textile products is key to the sustainability of this industry. However, without effective policy support from the government, the future of the textile industry in Indonesia remains uncertain.