Some forty employees of the Kitan textile plant in the southern city of Dimona were informed the factory which has provided a livelihood for many city residents over the past half decade was closing its doors. For most of them, veteran employees of tens of years, now in their 60s, they are facing the bleak realization that they are unskilled, too young to retire, and not likely to find another job.

Kitan, which at its peak employed 1,500 Dimona residents has been a primary source of income for the southern community. Most employees are unskilled assembly line workers, paid minimum wages and benefits, yet they proudly reported for work and earned a modest living, raising families and keeping within their modest budgetary means. Now, with the main city employer shutting its doors, Ministry of Industry & Trade officials have signaled they will seek to find employment for the laid off workers, but no one in Dimona sees a viable option. The ministry however is speaking of a new factory in the area which will employ 250 people, including most of the former Kitan workers.

For Kitan, the once vibrant local firm cannot fight changing trends and it can no longer produce locally with the realization that in the Far East, the same merchandise can be manufactured at a fraction of the price.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)