Italian prosecutors raided factories of subcontractors of the fashion houses Dior and Armani and accused the traders of labor exploitation, writes The Wall Street Journal.
During police actions, it turned out that illegal migrants were working in the factories and were paid only two dollars an hour. According to journalists' calculations, workers in Dior factories receive $57 for one produced bag, while in stores it costs $2,780.
According to the material, most of the employees were Chinese nationals who worked almost around the clock, including weekends and holidays, while living right inside the factory. Prosecutors said some of the workshops in Italy also produced products for other fashion brands.
Armani officials told reporters that the company is outsourcing production to GA Operations, its own manufacturing organization. The luxury brand denies wrongdoing by GA Operations.
However, Italian law enforcement authorities allege that the company in question hired a subcontractor who in turn hired unauthorized Chinese subcontractors - they used illegal labor while violating health and safety rules at work. Four Chinese factory owners face separate criminal investigations for illegal recruitment brokering.
In April, Armani was already suspected of labor exploitation and employing illegal migrants.