West Java Governor Urges Relocation as Garment Factory Closures Shift Industrial Landscape

West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi has responded to the layoff of 178 workers at garment company PT Namnam Fashion Industries in Cimahi by urging affected labourers to consider relocating, citing a shift in the region’s industrial map. Mulyadi explained that the garment sector is characteristically transient, as companies tend to relocate factories once production costs and local minimum wages in an area are no longer competitive. He described this movement of labour-intensive factories reaching their break-even point to regions with lower labour costs as a natural cycle common in the industry. Despite the closure, the Governor asserted that job availability in West Java’s garment and footwear sectors remains abundant, but the epicentre has shifted from traditional industrial areas like Bandung, Karawang, Purwakarta, and West Bandung to new growth regions. To adapt, he encouraged workers wishing to remain in the textile and footwear industry to be flexible and move to regencies receiving new investment, such as Indramayu, Garut, and Majalengka. He noted that new industrial zones are emerging with massive recruitment drives, particularly in Indramayu, which requires tens of thousands of workers for the footwear, shoe, and garment sectors. The statement was made in response to a viral social media post showing the emotional distress of workers following the factory’s operational shutdown.