5 lakh textile workers may lose jobs: Govt

Five lakh workers in the textile industry, which is reeling under the impact of a severe slowdown in the export market, may lose jobs in the next five months, Commerce Secretary G K Pillai said.

Five lakh workers in the textile industry, which is reeling under the impact of a severe slowdown in the export market, may lose jobs in the next five months, Commerce Secretary G K Pillai said.

“According to estimates of the Textile Ministry, there will be job losses of about five lakhs in the next five months,” Pillai said on the sidelines of a FICCI function.

He said the Government is working on a package for the distressed export sector. The package, which may include cut in interest rates and increased credit for exporting firms, would go to the committee chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next week.

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Pillai warned that growth rate of exports may come down to 10 per cent for the current fiscal “if the fall continues”.

Before the slowdown set in, exporters had grown by over 30 per cent in the first half of 2008-09.

“The target (200 billion dollar) would come down,” the Commerce Secretary said.