"Sudden withdrawal of foreign textile companies threatens thousands of jobs in Tunisia", 29 March 2025

The textile sector in Tunisia is witnessing the sudden withdrawal of foreign companies after many years of partnership with local operators, amid concerns about the decline in the operating capacity of the vital industrial sector that provides thousands of jobs. Recently, the textile company Benetton, which operates in partnership with local companies, announced that it would leave Tunisia without warning...

In a statement...the Tunisian Textile and Apparel University called on the government and partners to show solidarity and support [for] 24 companies employing 2,000 workers in Gafsa and Kasserine governorates, which are facing difficulties after Benton's exit from the market. The university said that Benton abandoned the companies, [who] served [the company] for more than 15 years, without warning, causing the loss of 2,000 jobs...

Habib El Hazami, secretary-general of the General University of Textiles, Clothing, Leather and Footwear, said that unions are seeking to protect the rights of workers when foreign companies leave and ensure adequate compensation for them, while many difficulties arise in small enterprises that work in the framework of contracting with foreign investors...

Tunisia is the fourth supplier to the EU in terms of jeans production, for example, after Bangladesh, Turkey and Pakistan, with a market share of about 9 per cent in terms of value and quantity.

About 80 per cent of textile and clothing factories in Tunisia produce exclusively for Europe, making them vulnerable to shocks and highly affected by what happens in the countries of origin...

The sector employs about 185,000 workers, equivalent to 35.7% of the total workforce in the industrial sector, and the study conducted by the Tunisian Observatory for Economic and Social Rights on the textile sector confirms that the...marginalisation and exploitation [of the industry] is exposed to Tunisian women workers, who represent more than 86% of all those employed in the sector, especially in textile enterprises...

[Translation via DeepL]