State intervention saves more than 200 textile jobs in KwaZulu-Natal

More than 200 jobs out of the 500 that were lost when a KwaZulu-Natal textile company shut due to cashflow problems have been saved – thanks to a successful intervention by the provincial government.

On Tuesday‚ economic development‚ tourism and environmental affairs MEC Sihle Zikalala and Industrial Development Corporation CEO Geoffrey Qhena officially reopened the plant at Glodina Black Label in Hammarsdale near Pietermaritzburg.

The plant was shut down after Glodina‚ which produces quality towels and supplies the hospitality industry and some of SA’s top retailers‚ experienced financial difficulties‚ forcing its holding company‚ Kap Industrial Holdings‚ to dispose of the textile company as it was no longer making profit.

Zikalala intervened in a bid to save jobs in the already struggling Hammarsdale industrial area.

Zikalala’s intervention included extensive engagements with other stakeholders in a bid to come up with a turnaround strategy to avoid the devastating effects of the closure of the company on the region’s economy.

This resulted in the formation of a task team which included his department‚ Trade and Investment KZN‚ the IDC and the SA Clothing and Textile Workers Union.

Zikalala said on Tuesday his department had played a key role in linking potential investors with development finance institutions such as the IDC and KZN Growth Fund.

“We are very humbled by the swiftness with which the minister of economic development Ebrahim Patel and the IDC have handled the matter.”

The IDC approved a funding package of R150m for an IDC-owned entity to acquire the Glodina assets, and the factory resumed operations.

The new entity has committed to retaining more than 211 of the 500 jobs lost when the company closed. –