Industrial Decline: The Jobs Crisis in Tuticorin

The closure of the Sterlite Copper plant in Tuticorin has caused a massive employment crisis, affecting downstream industries like thermal power plants, salt pans, and textile mills. Over a million daily wage workers are unemployed. Demands to open semiconductor plants for economic revival are intensifying.

An employment crisis is gripping Tuticorin as downstream industries reel from the closure of the Sterlite Copper power plant. This setback has directly impacted thermal power plants, salt pans, and textile mills, leading to significant job losses, said INTUC General Secretary P Kathirvel.

The shutdown of Sterlite Copper displaced over 1,500 workers and disrupted livelihoods for about 40,000 people. Kathirvel estimates that the closure has left nearly one million daily wage workers unemployed, as many industries became non-operational.

Tuticorin DMK MP Kanimozhi has urged the central government to set up semiconductor manufacturing units, noting they could create 30,000 jobs and stimulate the region's economy. Kathirvel highlighted the need for traditional mills to modernize, adding that reopening Sterlite could benefit thousands of truck drivers and daily wage workers.

(With inputs from agencies.)