South African garment factories idle as migrant exodus hits production

Factory owners in KwaZulu-Natal report losing between 12% and 19% of their workforce during the recent protests. While anti-immigrant groups claim these positions should be occupied by local citizens—who face a 33% unemployment rate—manufacturers argue that the reality is far more complex. Owners like Alex Liu maintain that they cannot immediately replace the specialized skills of garment workers from Eswatini and Lesotho, and many local job seekers are unwilling to accept the low, piece-rate wages offered in the sector.

The Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers' Union estimates that 15% of Newcastle’s 15,000-strong textile workforce fled during the unrest. Union representative Siyabonga Ntombela rejects the narrative of a skills gap, instead pointing to poor working conditions and wages that often fall below the national minimum of 30.23 rand ($1.83) per hour. With retail margins razor-thin—a pair of jeans often nets the factory only 11.50 rand—owners say they have no financial room to increase pay or fund extensive training for new local recruits.

Faced with mounting losses and a decline in retail orders following government crackdowns on labor practices, many businesses are teetering on the brink of closure. Liu, who is currently operating at a loss, plans to re-evaluate his survival by December. Researchers warn that without a systemic push to improve working conditions and upward mobility, the industry's instability may ultimately result in a net loss of jobs for the very South Africans the protests aimed to support.