Indonesia launches help desk to combat mass layoffs in textile, footwear sectors

The Indonesia government launched recently a help desk dedicated to prevent more layoffs in the country's labor-intensive textile and footwear industries.

Spearheaded by the Southeast Asia nation's Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) and located in its main office in Jakarta, the help desk is tasked to identify the problems that companies are experiencing and offer them specific solutions. Businesses facing mass layoffs can also ask for financial assistance via state-lenders or extensions for tax and electric bills payments.

BKPM head Franky Sibarani said that the initiative will focus on the Indonesia's fabric and footwear industries because these sectors are the most-badly hit by the country's sluggish economy. Among the key problems that companies are currently facing are soaring costs of raw materials, the weakening value of the rupiah, and illegal textile and apparel imports.

Last May, at least 6,000 of the 1.5 million workers in the sector were laid off, according to the Indonesia Textile Association (API).

The initiative is composed of officials from the BKPM, the country's trade, industry, finance, energy and mineral resources ministries, and fabric and footwear associations. Officials from the ministries in charge are available on an on-call basis, depending on the problems raised by companies.

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