Thousands of workers held a mass rally yesterday in Gazipur, demanding the reopening of all 16 factories which were shut down within the Beximco Industrial Park.

The workers also called for payment of outstanding salaries at the rally at Sunsity in Kashimpur's Sreepur.

The rally started around 2:30pm, said Abu Taleb, Assistant Superintendent of Police for Gazipur Industrial Police-2 (Konabari Zone).

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Advisory council undecided on Beximco factory sale

Witnesses said workers chanted slogans like: "We want work, not alms. We want to live with our families. Open the factories."

Taslima Khatun, a worker, said, "We want back our jobs. They cannot close the factories leaving fifty thousand of us jobless."

The rally was concluded peacefully around 5:00pm.

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Beximco lays off 40,000 workers at 15 apparel units

Last year, Beximco laid off nearly 40,000 workers of 16 apparel units, citing a lack of export orders for its garment and textile factories. Layoff notices were issued on December 15, 2024, taking effect the next day.

The layoffs affected over 57% of Beximco's workforce.

Labour Secretary AHM Shafiquzzaman stated on January 14 that the government is working to find jobs for the affected workers in factories under the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority and Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority. He also mentioned efforts to attract foreign buyers for the factories.

On January 20, a state advisory council met at the Bangladesh Secretariat to discuss selling the 16 factories, preferably to foreign entrepreneurs, to repay Tk 50,000 crore in bank loans owed by Beximco.

Over half of these loans have become non-performing, according to Bangladesh Bank data from November 2024. However, the council deferred its decision, pending further scrutiny of the group's financial statements.