Indonesia: 400,000 workers in footwear industry lose jobs due to COVID-19

Employees at an Indonesian leather firm (Source: Jakarta Post)

Jakarta (VNA) – Close to 400,000 workers in the Indonesian leather and footwear industry are foreced to stop working due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to preliminary statistics.

The Indonesian Footwear Producers Association (Aprisindo)'s Chairman Firman Bakri said the country's leather and footwear industry has been seriously affected by the pandemic.

Particularly, since February 2020, the supply of input materials for production has been disrupted because major Chinese suppliers have suspended operations, he said.

Many factories had to temporarily close, while some are still trying to maintain operations but with a capacity of only about 40 percent to complete export orders, he added.

Firman noted that this situation could prolong and the number of workers who have to leave jobs will increase in the coming time./.