After having survived Greece’s protracted financial crisis, the textile industry is now going under due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Until a fortnight ago, it still remained a dynamic part of the country’s export industry, representing 10 per cent of total manufacturing exports, channeling 70 per cent of its production to international markets.

However, the industry’s fortunes nosedived over the last 10 days, with four historic textile mills that had endured turmoil in recent years but managed to survive announcing the suspension of operations, placing the jobs and livelihoods of more than 600 workers in doubt. More specifically, on March 18, Nafpaktos Textile Industry in Attica, which has been operating in various legal forms since 1964 and currently employs a total of 161 employees, went out of business.

Four days later, the management of the Varvaressos textile factory in northern Greece decided to suspend operations with the closure of its factories. It employed 227 workers and had thriving exports.

Moreover, recently textile producer Fieratex, also in northern Greece, suspended the work contracts of its staff until May 15. Also on April 1, the Epilektos textile factory in Attica announced the suspension of operations for 45 days. Its 200 employees have been placed on standby. The company started out as a cotton mill in Farsala, central Greece, in 1970 and became one of the most dynamic companies in the industry.