DBL Group brings back workers from Ethiopia as conflict continues

The DBL Group says it has brought back its workers from Ethiopia due to security concerns over the conflict between government forces and rebels in Tigray region.

The Bangladeshi readymade garment manufacturer is not expecting reopening of factories in the African country anytime soon as the conflict continues to escalate.

The DBL Group's factory was closed in early November after the clashes erupted between the central government of Ethiopia and the local ruling group of the semi-autonomous federal state of Tigray region.

The DBL workers moved to the capital Addis Ababa from Tigray with the help of some international agencies after staying trapped for some days.

As many as 101 of the workers were from Bangladesh while two others were Sri Lankan. All of them have returned home, said MA Jabbar, the managing director of DBL Group.

The DBL Group launched the garment factory in the Tigray region in 2018 to take advantage of the Ethiopia’s duty-free access to the US market, low prices of land and cheap labour.

The factory is also financially backed by local banks of Ethiopia. The company was planning to construct an industrial park in a large plot of land there.

Jabbar declined to comment on the situation in Ethiopia, but said the Bangladesh embassy there helped the company much to set up the plant.

“It's feared that everyone will suffer more or less damage from the conflict,” he said, “We have nothing else to do but wait for the situation to get peaceful again.”