"Bangladesh Denim Group Reopens Factories After Weeklong Suspension", 22 Oct 2025

One of Bangladesh’s largest denim manufacturers is poised to reopen Thursday after days of violent protests, which left more than two dozen workers injured, resulted in an “indefinite” suspension of its factories last week. “Due to an unexpected situation, the authorities were compelled to declare an indefinite closure of all factory operations under Section 12(1) of the Bangladesh EPZ Labor Act 2019, effective from Oct. 16,” a notice signed by Pacific Jeans Group managing director Syed Mohammed Tanvir read in Bangla. “As the overall situation has now improved and a favorable environment has been restored, the authorities have decided to reopen the factories from Thursday.” More than 35,000 workers are employed across Pacific Jeans Group’s eight factories in the Chattogram Export Processing Zone in Chittagong, Bangladesh’s second-largest city after the capital of Dhaka, which lies nearly 170 miles to the north. According to the company’s website, it produces jeans for high-profile brands..

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..the situation had escalated in a matter of days, according to local media. The Business Standard, which described the unrest as “one of the most severe in Bangladesh’s garment sector this year,” traced the demonstrations to Oct. 9, when workers reportedly learned that the Bangladesh authorities were verifying their home addresses as part of an investigation into an earlier skirmish where police cars were vandalized. This sparked a wave of panic among workers who feared they were being targeted for arrest—not a far-out notion—resulting in an initial protest that triggered a temporary shutdown. This appeared to anger the demonstrators further. By Oct. 14, workers allegedly stopped work, disrupted electrical systems and persuaded others to join their strike. emands for the dismissal of supervisors whom they accused of mistreatment.

.. Processing Zones Authority and other stakeholders over the past five days. Pacific Jeans Group, he said, has identified and fired more than 420 workers who were involved in the protests and disruptions. He added that all termination benefits have been paid.