Sunduz Akan, a mother of three, worked until October at the "Sik Makas" garment factory in Tokat, central Anatolia. In the summer, her 1,700 employees suddenly went unpaid and on October 7, they stopped working. But instead of a favorable outcome, a shock came: the next day, 1,000 of the employees were fired by SMS.
"We only want what we are entitled to"
Since then, Akan and her colleagues have been protesting in front of their former employer's door, trying to draw attention to their plight. So far, they have had partial success - their salaries have been paid.
They are also once again entitled to unemployment benefits or compensation - an option that their employer had previously removed from their contracts. Now the dismissed are demanding the compensation they are entitled to. “I have worked here for more than three years. And now they treat us like beggars, even though we only want what we are entitled to.“
Hard working conditions and excessive pressure
The spokeswoman for the dismissed workers' group, Buze Kara, was also dismissed in October. She is now leading the protests. Kara speaks of a climate of mobbing and extreme pressure on workers. Recently, toilet breaks have been reduced to a maximum of five minutes, and prayer time to ten minutes. "Until you faint or experience unbearable pain, you don't have the right to see a doctor," she explains. "Shik Makas" denies all charges. In a written statement, the company told DW that everything was within legal norms and in accordance with union rules.
The factory, founded in 1939, is among the 500 largest textile companies in Turkey and, according to its own data, exports 20 million jeans annually - mainly to Europe. The production is for brands such as Zara, Levi's, H&M, Only or Jack & Jones, but clothes are also produced under its own brand Cross Jeans, intended for Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and other countries. Despite its size, however, "Shik Makas" is under enormous pressure due to galloping inflation and high interest rates in recent years. Therefore, the company exports parts of its production to Egypt, where it is more profitable.
The structural crisis of a key industry
The textile industry has traditionally been one of the pillars of the Turkish economy and a source of income for hundreds of thousands of families. Officially, the sector employs over 1 million people, but unions believe the number is much higher, as many refugees, women and children work illegally.
The chairman of the BİRTEK-SEN union, Mehmet Türkmen, emphasizes that the industry almost entirely pays only minimum wages, which are currently below the poverty line for a family of four - around 650 euros gross. Overtime and work on holidays are not paid extra, and many companies are moving to the agricultural regions of Anatolia to receive state subsidies. According to Turkmen, this is driving down wages even more, as unemployment is high there.
Significant losses of market shares in the EU
Entrepreneurs complain about high raw material prices and rising production costs, and the data shows the true scale of the crisis. Over the past three years, 380,000 jobs have been lost in the industry, and 4,500 companies closed in 2025 alone. The situation in the most important market - the European Union - is particularly worrying.
While major competitors China and Bangladesh are increasing their exports to the EU, Turkish exports are collapsing. According to the Istanbul Textile Exporters' Union, imports from China to the EU increased by 21.8 percent in the period from January to May 2025, the increase in imports from Bangladesh was 17.9 percent. During the same period, exports from Turkey have decreased by 5.1 percent, and of the ten largest textile suppliers to the EU, only Turkey and Tunisia have lost market share. And since over 60 percent of Turkish textile production is destined for the EU, the industry is seriously threatened.
Pessimistic forecast
Seref Fayat of the Association of Chambers and Commodities of Turkey (TOBB) is pessimistic about the future. While the government intervenes in the foreign exchange market to keep the lira artificially stable, and at the same time, interest rates on loans remain extremely high, he believes there is no chance of improvement. President Erdogan has promised to increase state subsidies for employees in the sector to around 69 euros to stop layoffs, but employers are asking for twice as much.
Mustafa Paşahan, vice-chairman of the Istanbul Garment Exporters' Association, explicitly warns: "We have reached the bottom, we no longer have the strength". And the chairman of the Aegean Textile and Raw Material Exporters' Association (ETHİB), Yak Eşkinazi, is even more unequivocal. He criticizes the current government policy as destructive for the industry: "We don't expect anything more from these politicians. Now everyone is looking to save themselves".
Authors: Elmaz Topçu | Aram Ekin Duran