Citing information from the Department of Population and Statistics, Professor Wasantha Athukorala of Peradeniya University has revealed that more than 2000 factories and workplaces were closed last year as they were primarily affected by several factors, including the increase in electricity and fuel prices.
Despite this, the government has increased the fuel tariffs again since the 20th, though it has yet to be predicted what kind of shock it will cause the economy by increasing the electricity tariffs again by 18%. The Department of Statistics has revealed very specifically that 533,858 people have lost their jobs due to the closure of factories and workplaces last year.
Professor Wasantha Athukorala has pointed out that the other factors that have caused this collapse are the high cost of raw materials and some factory owners closing factories and going abroad.
