Alleged Indonesian Adidas supplier closes, disappears overnight

PT Yee Woo, in Indonesia’s Tunas Industrial Zone, Batam, Riau Islands province, has reportedly discontinued operations and abandoned 305 of its employees who had been waiting for outstanding pay since January 7.

“We came to work on Monday and were shocked to find…the factory, which was like just it had been robbed. Most of the production equipment, including laptop computers in the management office, was missing. We inspected the mess where seven of the expatriates were staying, but they were gone as well,” said  the Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers Unions representative Heriyanto on January 16.

Local unions claim that PT Yee Woo manufactured mainly for Adidas. But it does not appear on the current Adidas supplier list, and Adidas management in Jakarta disclaimed any knowledge of them. 

By mid-February, it appeared impossible to raise enough from selling the company’s assets to pay off the outstanding wages of the employees.  The owners seem to have left the country