With more than 110,000 workers in Turkey’s textile and garment sector having lost their jobs over the last year, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute, there’s a rising frustration that things simply aren’t being understood.
A report published by Birtek-Sen, the United Textile, Weaving and Leather Workers’ Union earlier this month summed it up starkly: While workers read between the lines of what the employers say, they pay with severe economic pain. Words like “bankrupt” and “shutting down” by employers could well mean anything from—”we are moving to Egypt,” “not going to pay severance,” or “accept our terms, or else,” Deniz Kar, union expert, Birtek-Sen told Sourcing Journal.
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The report was based on a study in eight provinces: Antep, Urfa, Batman, Adıyaman, Mardin, Van, Malatya, and Maraş. “In all eight of these provinces, exports have increased. In other words, in this region, textile exports are rising in contrast to the overall decline in Turkey,” he said.
The report oultlined how bankruptcies are often used as an excuse to avoid severance payments, to consolidate factories, or to relocate production to Egypt for lower costs. It noted that although exports were increasing, jobs were still being lost.
“The number of businesses operating in the textile and ready-to-wear sector decreased from 60,016 to 56,442 in the last year. In other words, the number of businesses in both sectors decreased by 3,574,” Kar said. “In May alone, the employment loss in the textile and ready-made clothing sectors, which are among the most labor-intensive sectors, exceeded 12,000. Meanwhile, in the first half of this year, ready-made clothing imports from Egypt almost doubled compared to the same period last year, reaching $198 million,” he said.
The report also cited numerous fake closures created to take advantage of government subsidies, in which companies were shut down as the subsidies came to an end.
“Specific factors also play a significant role in these closures. Most of the factories closing are due to the end of government incentives. Many businesses closing in Urfa were previously non-production businesses, established at zero cost with government incentives, used as warehouses while pretending to operate, and then declared bankrupt. However, in addition to the factories continuing production in the Urfa Organized Industrial Zone, there are 35 textile factories under project and 26 under construction,” the report noted.
It added that these new facilities, largely producing for international companies, are being established with government support and incentives. ‘This demonstrates that despite the decline in employment and the number of factories, exports have increased, and employers continue to invest in the region. Employers, exploiting cheap labor and incentives, will continue to exploit fake closures and employment declines to reduce costs to zero.”
Manufacturers, responding to the allegations, strongly rejected the claims. Several, who asked not to be named, said that regulations were “strict in Türkiye” and that “fake closures were not really possible for companies that worked with global buyers.” They argued that the issue was largely confined to unregistered or underground’ businesses, often relying heavily on migrant labor, which made up only a small portion of the industry.
“Of course, some investments are shifting to Egypt, but this isn’t new; it’s been happening for about a decade. Furthermore, the agreements with Egypt have opened up space for Turkey’s exports to Egypt to increase. In this case, while some of the investments in Egypt have resulted from the closure of factories or factory departments there, others are capital investments realized from the profits generate,” one manufacturer explained.
However, Kar made clear that with the high level of unemployment it has become easier to take advantage of workers.
“Workers seeking employment at the FLO shoe factory in the Urfa Organized Industrial Zone, for example are paying 50,000 ($1,215) to 100,000 ($2,430) Turkish lira to recruiters, supervisors, managers and foremen just to find them work. Workers we spoke with in provinces like Mardin and Urfa said they want work, no matter what it takes, even if they are uninsured and working a few days a week. The high unemployment in these provinces has become a major opportunity for employers,” he said, adding that in Gaziantep, large companies were swallowing up smaller ones, and production continues at full speed. “Merinos, which has laid off more than 1,500 workers in Gaziantep in the last six months, is building a new facility at a cost of $220 million at its factory in the fourth Organized Industrial Zone,” he said.
“Exports and profits are rising, while workers are becoming increasingly impoverished, and workers are being made to bear the brunt of the crisis,” he said.
An economist in Istanbul noted that while workers were indeed suffering from job losses, the scale of severance abuse was likely overstated. “The dismissal of tens of thousands of workers without severance pay was unlikely to be possible given the strong government mandate on these issues. This claim doesn’t even tally with the numbers. The primary reason for recent job losses is the inability of companies to maintain internationally competitive prices in the face of high costs, leading to downsizing. In these downsizings, employees are largely laid off after their legal rights are paid,” he said.
Other conflicts are adding to the turmoil.
Outside the Digel Textile factory, a German-owned menswear manufacturer in the İzmir Free Zone, a group of workers have been protesting for more than six months.
Mustafa Ozal Percin, international secretary, TEKSIF, which is the Textile knitting clothing and leather workers union of Turkey, told Sourcing Journal that more than a dozen workers were fired during the unionization process at the factory in February, and that they were protesting a “long list of humiliations and injustices, including claims of mobbing, psychological violence, sexual harassment, unlawful dismissals, and gender-based discrimination that intensified since the workers unionized in January 2025.”
“As the strike continued to its 218th day, a meeting was held in Izmir at the call of the textile union and workers, for a joint struggle against systematic harassment, repression and mobbing. Representatives of more than 60 organizations including unions, women’s organizations, trade organizations, and political parties attended the meeting and discussed the report shared with the public in the past weeks. The report outlined the fact the systematic harassment inside the factory continued, some women workers have been subjected to physical harassment by the managers,” he said.
“There were no overtures, nor reactions from the factory, despite months of reaching out, no response to letters or email. Since January, Digel has fired 15 union members without compensation. Many of those targeted were leading voices in the fight for decent wages, safety, and dignity at work. The matter will have to go to court will take years to resolve,” Perçin added.
Union reports claim global brands are leaving Turkey for other manufacturing hubs, fueling both export declines and job losses. Workers are protesting against these developments and the shrinking domestic market, demanding government action to save the sector.
“Many manufacturers shut down factories because inflation rates are so high, and nearly all are trying to move to Egypt. The minimum wage here is close to $1,000 a month, while in Egypt it’s around $200 without social security or rights. Employers can push workers there 18 hours a day. It’s like jungle law. Egypt is the biggest problem for us. Everyone is trying to escape to Egypt,” Perçin said.
Toygar Narbay, co-chair, TGSD explained that this was not a new trend, and that manufacturers were also struggling for survival. TGSD or Turkish Giyim Sanayicileri Dernegi in Turkish, is the leading professional organization for Turkey’s apparel industry.
“There are approximately 55,000 manufacturers in turkey, small and medium and large size. According to reports, approximately 300 factories moved to Egypt in last three to four years. Egypt has a free trade agreement with the U.S. and some buyers already have a relationship with Turkish manufacturers and want to continue sourcing from them.”
He outlined the broader industry trend: “In 2019 world apparel export was $495 billion, this dipped to $450 billion in 2021 and came up to $578 billion in 2022. Our exports were $17 billion in 2021, came up to $21.2 billion in 2022 and now last year we came down to $17.9 billion. This year it will be $17 billion. A lot of entrepreneurs thought it would go more so they invested a lot. But after the central banks increased the interest rates to be able to stop the inflation, the market shrank leaving significant overcapacity.”
Yet several manufacturers associations have indicated that the turbulence could be offset by external shifts.
With the U.S. setting a 15 percent reciprocal tariff for Turkey—lower than several regional competitors—the industry could well gain an unexpected opening. Exporters hope that this relative advantage will draw more orders back into the country in the months ahead, offering a potential lifeline to a sector struggling to reconcile falling employment with rising global demand.
