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From mass-market to luxury fashion, brands and suppliers are automating more of their manufacturing processes to save time and improve quality. Where does that leave supply chain workers?
According to the latest Pulse report by Shimmy, a startup that offers gamified training to garment workers in Bangladesh, 80 per cent of factories in the country are planning to purchase automated machines in the next two years, up from 28 per cent in 2021. Each machine could displace one to six workers. Bangladesh’s garment industry accounts for more than 80 per cent of the country’s export revenue and employs over 4 million people. Shimmy predicts that the workforce will reduce by 5 per cent from the upcoming round of automation, amounting to more than 200,000 job losses over an 18-month period.
Pocket attachment, cutting and belt loop attachment are some of the most common areas that factories plan to automate. After purchasing advanced machines, 95 per cent of factories report additional output, which improves product quality, worker efficiency and ease of carrying out critical processes.
“An automatic thread cutter on a sewing machine might save a worker a bit of time, but it also removes the job of the helper who snips those threads, which is an entry-level job that leads to a position as a sewing machine operator or multi-machine operator or supervisor, so even those small things have the power to disrupt [the ecosystem] in large ways,” says Sarah Krasley, founder and CEO of Shimmy.
After the Covid lockdowns, clothing consumption jumped, which led to increased orders from factories. Factories hired and trained people quickly, but now a downturn in spending due to the economic climate has led factories to lay off workers and adopt automation to save money, says Krasley. The volatility in the supply chain has made it even more important to protect workers, offering them skills that will expand their job opportunities in a competitive…
