Apparel exporters in Delhi-NCR are facing a labor shortage. There are hundreds of garment manufacturing units in the region. Owing to the scarcity of workers, factories are being forced to work overtime, and in night shifts, to complete orders on time. There are various factors responsible for the shortage of labor. A lot of workers have returned to their villages for marriages as well as for agriculture-related activities.

The shortage is despite a lot of effort to enhance skill development in the apparel manufacturing industry. Gurugram is facing a similar situation. Exporters have plenty of orders but the workers are mostly migrants. So many companies of Delhi-NCR have started their factories to states where labor availability is not an issue. So Matrix Clothing of Gurugram has an unit in Jharkhand.

Labor shortage has always been an annual concern for the industry during this season, but this time the struggle is a bit more ,as a chunk of workers, post-Covid, have not come back or have moved to other industries or businesses. However factories are not offering any lucrative wages to attract workers since the price pressure is already very high. Raw material costs have increased. Some apparel exporters of Noida work with prestigious retailers like Carrefour.