Apparel giant NEXT closes Katunayake production plant

UK firm cites increasingly high operating cost at Katunayake as the main reason | UK firm cites increasingly high operating cost at Katunayake as the main reason | Move will lay off 1,416 employees but will be compensated as per Termination of Employment of Workmen (Special Provisions) Act | Katunayake plant has been unprofitable, and despite considerable efforts company has been unable to make it economically viable and closure was after exploring all alternative options Embellishment | Embellishment and product development plants, also based in Katunayake, however will remain operational but with reduced head-count | NEXT will continue with operations at two of its other plants in Andigama and Nawgaththegama as well as Colombo sourcing office and operations

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LONGSTANDING apparel manufacturer and buyer NEXT has announced the closure of its Katunayake production unit with immediate effect citing high operating cost.

The closure will result in 1,416 redundancies overall. Despite shutting down the plant at Katunayake Export Processing Zone, NEXT will continue operations at two of its other plants in Andigama and Nawgaththegama. The embellishment and product development plants, which are also based in the Katunayake Free Trade Zone, will remain operational but with reduced numbers of employees Colombo sourcing office and operations will not be affected too.