Bangladesh’s apparel and textile industry is seeing rising output alongside shrinking employment, as automation reshapes factory operations and reduces demand for low-skilled labour.
While garment exports have grown from about US $ 12.5 billion to nearly US $ 40 billion over the past decade, the sector has lost an estimated 1.4 million jobs between 2013 and 2023. Industry leaders say the trend reflects a global shift towards capital-intensive manufacturing, with automated cutting, knitting, dyeing, finishing and sewing technologies rapidly replacing manual processes.
Jason Prescott, Chief Executive Officer of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation, stated that the move towards automation was structural rather than cyclical, improving productivity and sustainability compliance while reducing reliance on repetitive manual labour. Thomas Rabe of McKinsey & Company added that advances in apparel automation were significantly shortening lead times and signalling the end of large-scale labour absorption in traditional manufacturing hubs.
In Bangladesh, the impact is most visible in knitting, sweaters and denim, where automated machines can deliver four to five times higher output with far fewer workers. Rezwan Selim, Vice President of BGMEA, noted that automation had become essential to meet buyer demands for speed, consistency and traceability, fundamentally altering employment structures. Shams Mahmud of Shasha Denims said a denim production line that once required around 90 workers could now operate with nearly half that number.
Rising wages, compliance costs and operational risks have further pushed factories towards automation. A senior South Asia supply chain executive at a global apparel brand said suppliers were adopting automation to meet buyer expectations, with employment impacts largely an unintended consequence.
Industry representatives also pointed to energy shortages and financial stress as additional factors behind job losses. Md. Khorshed Alam of BTMA said unreliable gas supply and operational bottlenecks were forcing mills to scale down, leaving even automated machinery idle at times.
As automation advances, demand is shifting towards skilled operators and technicians. M A Jabbar of DBL Group said re-skilling and multi-skilling were now critical for workers to remain employable in modern factories.
Economists warned that Bangladesh’s heavy reliance on garments has amplified the employment impact. Professor Mustafizur Rahman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue said productivity gains were not being matched by industrial diversification, resulting in jobless growth. Mohammad Abdur Razzaque of RAPID added that automation had become a systemic employment issue because of the sector’s dominance in manufacturing and exports.
Comparisons with Vietnam suggest diversification could soften the labour shock. William Son of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association said job losses from automation could be absorbed if new manufacturing sectors expanded quickly enough.
For Bangladesh, analysts said the challenge was no longer whether automation would continue, but whether the economy could create new industries, skills and investment pathways to absorb displaced workers.
