The textile industry is now re-employing as many as 20,000 employees who were laid off in 2022. In this case, the Indonesian Textile Association (API) opened its voice. API Chairman Jemmy Kartiwa Sastraatmadja said that last January, the recruitment of employees who had previously been laid off had been carried out because the industry's domestic market had experienced improvement. "At the beginning of January it seems that the local market has improved a little, so some of our members are trying to hire more employees who have been laid off," said Jemmy, Thursday (23/2/2023).
Although, Jemmy did not say exactly how many employees were re-employed after being laid off last year.
Jemmy admits that his party is still holding on to the domestic market. Although not fully grasped by local products and still have to deal with a flood of illegally imported products.
"Now our focus is the local market, even though we haven't fully mastered it yet," added Jemmy.
This is because currently, said Jemmy, the textile industry cannot expect much from the export market, given the geopolitical instability, it is not certain when it will improve.
"The export market is still not very good," he continued.
Moreover, said Jemmy, even though the domestic market had improved in line with preparations for welcoming the month of Ramadan and Eid which had an impact on increasing demand. However, Jemmy said, this good condition did not last long.
Because, when entering February this year, his party was again faced with a weakening domestic market.
“In general, utility is still low. Purchasing power conditions greatly affect demand," Jemmy concluded.