Chennai: With around 80 per cent of the garment industry mostly micro, small and medium enterprises, CMAI, which has around 3,700 members employing over 7 lakh people, said most of its members do not have the kind of reserves to see them through 3-6 months of this magnitude.
We have estimated that if no assistance comes from the government, either in terms of wage subsidy or revival package, there could be loss of almost a crore of jobs in the entire textile chains, said CMAI Chief Mentor Rahul Mehta.
He was speaking at a webinar on way forward for brick-and-mortar retail, hospitality and textile industries during and post COVID-19.
Seeking a financial package from the government for the industry, Mehta said interventions like wage subsidies must be taken up, otherwise there would be huge job losses.
If the garment industry closes down, it would impact the entire value chain from fabric supply industry to brand to the zipper and label industry, he said.
“If you look at the entire textile industry, I see a job loss of one crore if nothing is done by the government,” he added.
He, however, appreciated efforts taken up by the textiles ministry such as asking all leading global companies not to cancel orders from the Indian exporters and such steps send positive vibes to manufacturers, particularly to the smaller ones.
Mehta said CMAI has done a survey among its members and analysed around 1,500 responses.