Indonesian workers have accused Uniqlo of exploiting them. Around 2,000 workers were made redundant when the factory shut in 2015. The workers blame the factory’s closure on Uniqlo’s decision to stop giving it orders, citing quality issues and delivery delays. They are owed about US$5.5 million in unpaid wages and severance payments and want Uniqlo to be held responsible. The company also didn’t fulfill its responsibility in protecting workers from union busting, illegal dismissals, and overtime work without pay. It had not taken necessary and simple steps to conduct due diligence before it stopped placing orders.

While Uniqlo was not the workers’ direct employer, the CCC’s East Asia campaigner Johnson Yeung Ching-yin said the company was still responsible because its dealings with the factory had led to the workers being overstressed, and its decision to discontinue business with the factory led to its closure.

After the factory’s closure, the workers occupied its premises, sleeping there for 18 months. But the banks, which were the factory’s creditors, eventually seized its assets and sold them.