Some 570 people employed at the jeans-making VF Malta plant will be made redundant at the end of August, after VF announced yesterday that it will close its Malta manufacturing plant at San Gwann and move production to lower cost, more competitive markets.
The announcement was made by Noel Kyndt, VF Jeanswear – International vice-president when, together with a delegation from the corporation, he called on Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt.
Mr Kyndt said: “Based on the global competitive manufacturing and sourcing environment, VF has invested heavily over the years to keep this plant competitive. Despite these investments, due to the rapidly-changing environment, VF Malta has had difficulty maintaining a competitive advantage. This is a difficult decision, but it is absolutely necessary.”
VF Corporation is a leader in branded apparel, including jeanswear, outdoor products, image apparel and sportswear.
Stefaan Deneef, VF Jeanswear – International human resources director, praised the employees at VF Malta, saying the decision to close down the plant was not reflective of their skill, dedication and capabilities.
“The company will come to an agreement with the employee representatives on the necessary severance benefits and work with government training agencies to provide career transition assistance,” said Mr Deneef.
In a statement issued following the announcement, the Investment, Industry and Information Technology Ministry said the decision by VF Corporation to close down the Malta plant meant that Malta had to concentrate on high-end manufacturing, rather than manufacturing of textiles, for example.
The high-end manufacturing sector was proving to be very successful in Malta and thousands of Maltese workers were being employed in this industry, said the ministry, expressing solidarity with the workers employed at VF Malta. The government’s solidarity will go beyond words and it will certainly move into action to provide all its assistance to the workers, said the ministry.
The ministry has already contacted the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC), which has been ordered to immediately mobilise its resources to help VF workers find other jobs.
If need be, specific funds will also be made available for re-training to be offered to VF Jeanswear workers, the ministry added.
Minister Gatt said he empathised with the situation that workers and their families were being faced with, but promised he would use all resources at hand to assist the workers to find alternative jobs as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the General Workers’ Union (GWU) said the announcement made by VF Corporation was bad news for the employees, the union and the industry.
The GWU said 240 workers at VF Malta had already been made redundant in January 2004. VF was doing well in the international market; and should the government provide the necessary assistance and incentives for the country’s manufacturing industry to remain competitive, such lay-offs would not occur, said the GWU, adding that many other factors were increasing the costs of production in Malta; and the government should pay attention to all that was happening, unless it wanted to continue missing out on foreign investment.
The GWU said it was extremely saddening to see more workers being made redundant, particularly since the government would save many jobs should it adopt a policy based on good sense.
Roberto Cristiano, secretary of the union’s manufacturing and small and medium enterprises section, said: “Like the workers, we too were shocked. We never expected VF to close down so suddenly, when the company’s performance was good and the work was of such high quality. It was the ideal company.”