The wage that attracts textile bosses is 6,000 lira: What lies behind the exodus to Egypt?

Melisa Ay

In Turkey the textile sector has frequently hit the agenda over the last two years through bosses saying “We are bleeding out” and “We are going under we can’t keep up with the costs”. The sector is indeed interpreted as a major loss of jobs as a reflection of the economic crisis. The main complaint of bosses is labour costs.

The common wage in the sector is the minimum wage. Employers say wages of 22,1204 lira fall behind their fixed exchange-rate export earnings. These wages equal roughly 520 dollars at the current rate.

A fact that comes up again with every statement from companies is the “flight to Egypt”. Sector representatives say costs fall to a quarter there and that firms therefore shift production to Egypt. In reality the only item that falls is the amount spent on labour. The minimum wage in Egypt is not even 150 dollars at the current rate. This is almost a quarter of the minimum wage in Turkey and equals about 6,400 lira in Turkish currency.

MILLIONS WITHOUT SECURITY

In Egypt millions of people’s labour is exploited by both national and international companies and especially young people and women work with no safeguards.

Informal work is a very large part of Egypt’s economy. Most workers are uninsured unprotected low-paid and work in uninspected conditions. For women domestic work and textile workshops and for young people the streets and again textiles are at the centre of this structure. The official labour force in the country is 33,750,000 people. According to 2025 data from the International Labour Organization ILO 67 percent of the labour force in Egypt works informally. In 2012 this rate was 55.9 percent and the shift towards Egypt over the years increased the rate. According to the same data 53 percent of workplaces in agriculture trade and manufacturing show informality. Most economic research gives similar figures. Even in the World Bank’s criticised calculation methods it is estimated that more than 70 percent of workers in Egypt’s private sector are in informal jobs. The two most insecure age groups in the country are young people aged 15–29 with 90 percent informality and workers over 65 with 93 percent.

Egypt’s textile home textile and ready-made clothing sector makes up 3 percent of gross domestic product and nearly a third of industrial production. With its geographical position port and land links cotton production and its boss-friendly order Egypt is almost a ‘centre of attraction’ for new investments. The reason why this country stands out in the textile sector is the labour-intensive nature of the sector. As textiles is among the sectors that need human power the most it shifts to countries where labour is cheap to reduce costs even further and increase profits.

A third of foreign investors turning to the Middle East and North Africa choose Egypt for this reason. Investors from Turkey lead those wanting to benefit from this market. The recent trend of normalisation after the deterioration in relations with Turkey following the Arab Spring has again benefited companies.

Small-scale textile workshops in the country are the main centres of informality while Turkish companies that do subcontracted production for major clothing brands use these Egyptian SMEs as subcontractors. Some companies open giant factories in the country and start production.

Bosses who dismantle their machines one by one and flee to Egypt take air purifiers production equipment and even cleaning materials from Turkey. For bosses the most important difference between Turkey and Egypt is labour cost. In factories the only thing that changes is the faces labour exploitation continues at full speed. There are more than 1,700 Turkish companies and more than 200 Turkish textile factories in Egypt.

RESISTANCE FRIGHTENED THE BOSS

Most recently the boss of Şık Makas whose hundreds of workers in Tokat are in resistance the Kolunsağ Family was exposed by BİRTEK-SEN while preparing to dismantle the machines and flee to Egypt. Leaving hundreds of workers unemployed and seizing their severance and seniority rights the boss is preparing to set sail for new exploits.

According to the İstanbul Textile and Apparel Exporters’ Associations the companies that go take raw materials and yarn from Turkey as well. According to the association’s data shipments of raw materials from Turkey to this country increased by 50 percent annually in the January–April period. It was estimated that in 2024 a third of Egypt’s textile and apparel exports were supplied by firms from Turkey.

EVERYONE IS FLEEING

Among the first to go to Egypt were the Thracian giant Şahinler the pro-government Çalık Holding and companies like LC Waikiki. In the last two years the companies that have announced huge investments in Egypt and completed their investments include:

• Eroğlu Holding: The company which already had investments in this country started construction of a 40 million dollar textile and ready-made clothing factory in Egypt in 2024. The new facility will employ 2,075 people and the plant will be expanded over time.

• Yeşim Tekstil: The company operates here under the name Jade with three factories. CEO Şenol Şankaya said in 2025 that they plan to expand the ready-made clothing facility in Egypt and establish an integrated fabric and yarn factory.

• İskefe Holding: In 2023 it announced a 46 million dollar investment in Egypt’s leather and gelatin market. The holding has continued to accelerate these investments over the last two years.

• Şirikçioğlu Group: A new 700 million dollar investment is ongoing. It was recently announced that fabric will be produced in a new 20 million dollar factory investment.

• Ulusoy Tekstil: An agreement was signed in the summer of 2025 to establish a 35,000 square metre yarn and spinning factory in Qantara.

• Şahinler Group: The giant company plans to add a new 100 million dollar investment to its existing operations. A 15,000 square metre sportswear factory and a 50,000 square metre factory that will produce for Zara were also reported in the Egyptian press as part of the company’s investment plan.

• KCG Textile (Küçükçalık Group): The company which has been in Egypt since 2007 announced in July that it would add another 24 million dollars to its existing investments.

In the manufacture of textiles clothing and leather products alone the number of paid employees fell by 132,388 in the last year. In the sector where uninterrupted job losses have been experienced for three years the number of paid employees which was 1,330,000 in 2022 has fallen to the limit of 1,019,000.

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Tekstil patronlarını cezbeden maaş 6 bin lira: Mısır’a kaçışın altında ne var?, published in BirGün newspaper on November 24, 2025.