Levi Strauss to shut down factory and retrench over 400 workers

The world’s most popular jeans brand, Levi Strauss, has unveiled plans to shut down its Western Cape manufacturing plant and retrench more than 400 workers, triggering concerns about the erosion of local industrial capacity.

This was revealed by the company’s staff members, who told Sunday World that the Epping-based factory has initiated Section 189 retrenchment proceedings and is offering “generous” voluntary severance packages in a push for workers to exit en masse.

The planned closure has drawn reaction from both labour and business, who say it reflects deep pressure on South Africa’s clothing, textile, footwear and leather sector, but that the brand could still keep production local.

However, both parties said the closure is not believed to be linked to the US removing South Africa from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), from January 1.

Etienne Vlok, national industrial policy officer for the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union said: “Sactwu is very concerned that … in a couple of months, once its factory employees have used up their severance packages, the workers will be condemned to long-term structural unemployment and poverty.”

In the 2010s, as part of broader industrial policy investments in the sector, investments were made in the Levi’s factory, including world-class water-saving technology, which increased employment at the time.

“Sactwu proposed similar joint partnerships and investment-led modernisation, but the idea was not supported,” he said.

Vlok called on Levi’s to retain sourcing its denim jeans from South Africa and commit to finding local buyers for its machinery and equipment.

“[That] would allow us to jointly engineer the creation of new work opportunities for the Levi’s factory staff in Cape Town, even if it is in other businesses, and grow jobs across the country.

“Levi’s are a highly profitable, global juggernaut. They have plenty of room to make better decisions,” Vlok said.

The Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the loss of the Levi’s factory will have serious socioeconomic and knock-on effects for suppliers, service providers and workers, and the availability of industrial capacity and product diversity.

“But hopefully the brand can still have its products manufactured in South Africa, whether in Cape Town or in another part of the country,” said Graham Choice, the project manager for the chamber’s scaled labour-intensive manufacturing (Slim) industrial park project.

Choice pointed out that denim was a key interest in the sector. A recent report by the Localisation Support Fund (LSF) flagged denim as one of the largest-volume products in demand by domestic retailers, with significant space to increase localisation.

“Levi Strauss has alternative local denim manufacturing options available to it,” Choice said. “We would prefer Levi to keep production in the country. The clothing manufacturing sector is struggling at the moment, and every additional unit helps.

“There is also a challenge of platforms like Shein and Temu that continue to displace local retailers, take orders away from local factories, and push down prices in the market to unsustainable levels,” Choice said.

He said the LSF research identified steps to improve competitiveness that now need to be intensified.

According to the Western Cape government’s latest Manufacturing Sector Intelligence Report, in 2025 Cape Town was home to 298 textile manufacturing firms and 208 wearing apparel manufacturers, with a further 17 textile manufacturing firms in Drakenstein Municipality – the biggest clothing and textile value chain in the country.

Choice said rising operating costs have eroded local competitiveness, particularly in labour-intensive manufacturing, making the sector unattractive to capital and unable to operate at scale. The chamber was addressing this through its Slim industrial parks initiative.

Earlier this year it produced a blueprint for a model it believes would allow local firms to be globally competitive, which it is working to trial at a Western Cape site.

Slim is a repeatable model that seeks to make light manufacturing at scale commercially viable by improving economies of scale and asset utilisation, without compromising working conditions or creating permanent dependence on subsidy.

At its core is a 4×4 rotational shift system in which two dedicated teams alternate four days on and four days off – averaging a standard 42-hour work week per employee – keeping facilities operational year-round and expanding weekly plant utilisation from the conventional 45 hours to 84 hours without punitive overtime costs.

Choice said the closure is not believed to be linked to Agoa, but appears to be a decision taken by Levi Strauss’s head office in line with closures of other company-owned sites globally.

Sunday World was unable to obtain comment from Levi Strauss by the time of publication, but the company said earlier that “no final decision will be implemented until that [consultation] process has been completed”.

“The proposal follows a careful review of operational requirements … We are committed to engaging meaningfully and in good faith with employees and their representatives.”

The world’s most popular jeans brand, Levi Strauss, has unveiled plans to shut down its Western Cape manufacturing plant and retrench more than 400 workers, triggering concerns about the erosion of local industrial capacity.

This was revealed by the company’s staff members, who told Sunday World that the Epping-based factory has initiated Section 189 retrenchment proceedings and is offering “generous” voluntary severance packages in a push for workers to exit en masse.

The planned closure has drawn reaction from both labour and business, who say it reflects deep pressure on South Africa’s clothing, textile, footwear and leather sector, but that the brand could still keep production local.

However, both parties said the closure is not believed to be linked to the US removing South Africa from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), from January 1.

Etienne Vlok, national industrial policy officer for the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union said: “Sactwu is very concerned that … in a couple of months, once its factory employees have used up their severance packages, the workers will be condemned to long-term structural unemployment and poverty.”

In the 2010s, as part of broader industrial policy investments in the sector, investments were made in the Levi’s factory, including world-class water-saving technology, which increased employment at the time.

“Sactwu proposed similar joint partnerships and investment-led modernisation, but the idea was not supported,” he said.

Vlok called on Levi’s to retain sourcing its denim jeans from South Africa and commit to finding local buyers for its machinery and equipment.

“[That] would allow us to jointly engineer the creation of new work opportunities for the Levi’s factory staff in Cape Town, even if it is in other businesses, and grow jobs across the country.

“Levi’s are a highly profitable, global juggernaut. They have plenty of room to make better decisions,” Vlok said.

The Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the loss of the Levi’s factory will have serious socioeconomic and knock-on effects for suppliers, service providers and workers, and the availability of industrial capacity and product diversity.

“But hopefully the brand can still have its products manufactured in South Africa, whether in Cape Town or in another part of the country,” said Graham Choice, the project manager for the chamber’s scaled labour-intensive manufacturing (Slim) industrial park project.

Choice pointed out that denim was a key interest in the sector. A recent report by the Localisation Support Fund (LSF) flagged denim as one of the largest-volume products in demand by domestic retailers, with significant space to increase localisation.

“Levi Strauss has alternative local denim manufacturing options available to it,” Choice said. “We would prefer Levi to keep production in the country. The clothing manufacturing sector is struggling at the moment, and every additional unit helps.

“There is also a challenge of platforms like Shein and Temu that continue to displace local retailers, take orders away from local factories, and push down prices in the market to unsustainable levels,” Choice said.

He said the LSF research identified steps to improve competitiveness that now need to be intensified.

According to the Western Cape government’s latest Manufacturing Sector Intelligence Report, in 2025 Cape Town was home to 298 textile manufacturing firms and 208 wearing apparel manufacturers, with a further 17 textile manufacturing firms in Drakenstein Municipality – the biggest clothing and textile value chain in the country.

Choice said rising operating costs have eroded local competitiveness, particularly in labour-intensive manufacturing, making the sector unattractive to capital and unable to operate at scale. The chamber was addressing this through its Slim industrial parks initiative.

Earlier this year it produced a blueprint for a model it believes would allow local firms to be globally competitive, which it is working to trial at a Western Cape site.

Slim is a repeatable model that seeks to make light manufacturing at scale commercially viable by improving economies of scale and asset utilisation, without compromising working conditions or creating permanent dependence on subsidy.

At its core is a 4×4 rotational shift system in which two dedicated teams alternate four days on and four days off – averaging a standard 42-hour work week per employee – keeping facilities operational year-round and expanding weekly plant utilisation from the conventional 45 hours to 84 hours without punitive overtime costs.

Choice said the closure is not believed to be linked to Agoa, but appears to be a decision taken by Levi Strauss’s head office in line with closures of other company-owned sites globally.

Sunday World was unable to obtain comment from Levi Strauss by the time of publication, but the company said earlier that “no final decision will be implemented until that [consultation] process has been completed”.

“The proposal follows a careful review of operational requirements … We are committed to engaging meaningfully and in good faith with employees and their representatives.”

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The world’s most popular jeans brand, Levi Strauss, has unveiled plans to shut down its Western Cape manufacturing plant and retrench more than 400 workers, triggering concerns about the erosion of local industrial capacity.

This was revealed by the company’s staff members, who told Sunday World that the Epping-based factory has initiated Section 189 retrenchment proceedings and is offering “generous” voluntary severance packages in a push for workers to exit en masse.

The planned closure has drawn reaction from both labour and business, who say it reflects deep pressure on South Africa’s clothing, textile, footwear and leather sector, but that the brand could still keep production local.

However, both parties said the closure is not believed to be linked to the US removing South Africa from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), from January 1.

Etienne Vlok, national industrial policy officer for the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union said: “Sactwu is very concerned that … in a couple of months, once its factory employees have used up their severance packages, the workers will be condemned to long-term structural unemployment and poverty.”

In the 2010s, as part of broader industrial policy investments in the sector, investments were made in the Levi’s factory, including world-class water-saving technology, which increased employment at the time.

“Sactwu proposed similar joint partnerships and investment-led modernisation, but the idea was not supported,” he said.

Vlok called on Levi’s to retain sourcing its denim jeans from South Africa and commit to finding local buyers for its machinery and equipment.

“[That] would allow us to jointly engineer the creation of new work opportunities for the Levi’s factory staff in Cape Town, even if it is in other businesses, and grow jobs across the country.

“Levi’s are a highly profitable, global juggernaut. They have plenty of room to make better decisions,” Vlok said.

The Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the loss of the Levi’s factory will have serious socioeconomic and knock-on effects for suppliers, service providers and workers, and the availability of industrial capacity and product diversity.

“But hopefully the brand can still have its products manufactured in South Africa, whether in Cape Town or in another part of the country,” said Graham Choice, the project manager for the chamber’s scaled labour-intensive manufacturing (Slim) industrial park project.

Choice pointed out that denim was a key interest in the sector. A recent report by the Localisation Support Fund (LSF) flagged denim as one of the largest-volume products in demand by domestic retailers, with significant space to increase localisation.

“Levi Strauss has alternative local denim manufacturing options available to it,” Choice said. “We would prefer Levi to keep production in the country. The clothing manufacturing sector is struggling at the moment, and every additional unit helps.

“There is also a challenge of platforms like Shein and Temu that continue to displace local retailers, take orders away from local factories, and push down prices in the market to unsustainable levels,” Choice said.

He said the LSF research identified steps to improve competitiveness that now need to be intensified.

According to the Western Cape government’s latest Manufacturing Sector Intelligence Report, in 2025 Cape Town was home to 298 textile manufacturing firms and 208 wearing apparel manufacturers, with a further 17 textile manufacturing firms in Drakenstein Municipality – the biggest clothing and textile value chain in the country.

Choice said rising operating costs have eroded local competitiveness, particularly in labour-intensive manufacturing, making the sector unattractive to capital and unable to operate at scale. The chamber was addressing this through its Slim industrial parks initiative.

Earlier this year it produced a blueprint for a model it believes would allow local firms to be globally competitive, which it is working to trial at a Western Cape site.

Slim is a repeatable model that seeks to make light manufacturing at scale commercially viable by improving economies of scale and asset utilisation, without compromising working conditions or creating permanent dependence on subsidy.

At its core is a 4×4 rotational shift system in which two dedicated teams alternate four days on and four days off – averaging a standard 42-hour work week per employee – keeping facilities operational year-round and expanding weekly plant utilisation from the conventional 45 hours to 84 hours without punitive overtime costs.

Choice said the closure is not believed to be linked to Agoa, but appears to be a decision taken by Levi Strauss’s head office in line with closures of other company-owned sites globally.

Sunday World was unable to obtain comment from Levi Strauss by the time of publication, but the company said earlier that “no final decision will be implemented until that [consultation] process has been completed”.

“The proposal follows a careful review of operational requirements … We are committed to engaging meaningfully and in good faith with employees and their representatives.”