The President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) highlighted the challenges faced by labor-intensive sectors one of the driving forces of the Turkish economy in a post on the social media platform X.
Emphasizing the need to provide additional support to labor-intensive sectors, particularly textiles/ready-to-wear, leather/footwear, and furniture, the President proposed the reintroduction of the simplified short-time working allowance applied during the pandemic period.
“Our companies are Türkiye’s national wealth. We must protect our country’s production, investment, employment, and export capacity. I have stated this repeatedly. Labor-intensive sectors are in trouble. Additional support should be provided to labor-intensive sectors, especially textiles/ready-to-wear, leather/footwear, and furniture. As during the pandemic, the simplified short-time working allowance should be reintroduced. To enable our economy to grow on a stronger and more sustainable footing, access to finance for the real sector—especially SMEs—should be facilitated. Restrictions on commercial loans and commercial credit cards should be lifted.”
Alarm Bells for the Sectors
This statement by the TOBB President aligns with the latest employment and export data. According to SGK (Social Security Institution) data, in May 2025 alone, 12,286 people in textiles and ready-to-wear lost their jobs. In the first five months of the year, total employment losses reached 45,904, and 2,659 companies closed down.
The apparel and ready-to-wear sector in particular has been steadily declining for the past three years from the 1,222,000 employment level it reached in 2022.
Data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) also reflects the difficulties in exports:
- In January–July 2025, ready-to-wear exports fell by 6.2% to $9.7 billion.
- Apparel exports, on the other hand, increased by 1.8% to $5.5 billion thanks to price reductions. However, much of this increase was due to a drop in unit prices.
Short-Time Working Allowance Back on the Agenda
The simplified short-time working allowance, which prevented thousands of businesses from closing during the pandemic, has come back onto the agenda with the TOBB President’s proposal. This measure had been particularly vital for SME-scale manufacturers during crisis periods.
Economic circles believe that reintroducing this mechanism would both protect employment and help maintain production capacity.
Financing Access Problem
Another issue raised by the TOBB President is the difficulty the real sector faces in accessing finance. Restrictions on commercial loans and commercial credit cards are causing many businesses to postpone or cancel their investment and production plans.
Sector representatives state that lifting credit restrictions and providing more favorable financing opportunities could increase production capacity and restore competitiveness in exports.
Erosion of Competitiveness
The price gap between Türkiye and competing manufacturing countries has reached the 50–60% level. Combined with aggressive pricing policies from countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, Pakistan, and China, this has reduced the market share of Turkish manufacturers in both Europe and the United States.
Rising energy costs, increases in the minimum wage, and exchange rate fluctuations are further intensifying the cost pressures.
Sector Expectations
In parallel with the TOBB President’s call, the sector’s main demands are as follows:
- Increasing incentive and support packages for SMEs
- Reintroducing the simplified short-time working allowance
- Lifting restrictions on commercial loans
- Reducing energy and raw material costs
- Encouraging high value-added, branded production
- Accelerating adaptation to the European Green Deal
2025 Will Be a Difficult Year
Experts predict that if support mechanisms are not implemented, job losses could reach 80,000 and the number of company closures could exceed 5,000 by the end of the year.
However, if the measures highlighted by the TOBB President are put into action, it is stated that both domestic and export markets could recover, and labor-intensive sectors could return to a growth path.
.jpg){kind=tracking}
