Inaplas Assures No Layoffs in the Plastic Industry Despite Being Affected by the Middle East Conflict

Illustration. (Photo: Dok. Antara)

JAKARTA - The performance of the national plastic industry is still in a survival phase amid the Middle East conflict that has not subsided.

Even though they are facing a weakening of manufacturing activities and supply turmoil of raw materials, industrial players ensure that there has been no layoffs.

Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Olefin, Aromatic, and Plastic Industries (Inaplas) Suhat Miyarso revealed that industrial actors are currently focusing on maintaining operational sustainability so that production does not stop.

"So, I convey that until today, not a single member of Inaplas has reported the incident of layoffs and we hope that in the next two to three months, things will get better," said Suhat in Jakarta, Tuesday, May 5.

According to Suhat, the pressure on the plastic industry has not only occurred in the last few months, but has been going on for the past few years.

This situation is exacerbated by the conflict in the Middle East which triggers supply disruptions and energy price increases.

In April 2026, industry performance was also pressured as the Purchasing Manager's Index or manufacturing PMI index fell by almost 1 percent.

This reflects the industrial activity which is still under pressure.

Even so, industry players are starting to see signs of improvement entering this month.

On the same occasion, Vice Chairman of Inplas Edi Rivai ensured that, until now, there has been no indication of layoffs in the petrochemical and plastic sectors, especially upstream.

"If you look at the components of the downstream petrochemical and plastics industry, the cost is more dominant from raw materials, so it is not the cost for labor. Therefore, if we look at the last 10 years, there is almost no talk about the petrochemical industry (suffering) layoffs," he explained.

"Because we know exactly that this industry is a cycle, yes. So, there are times when it is difficult, yes, we both have good times. So, in the petrochemical industry and its downstream, I say that until now almost no one has been laid off," he continued.

However, pressure on the industry remains significant, especially due to the high dependence on imports of raw materials which reach around 60-70 percent of national needs.

This condition makes the industry vulnerable to global supply disruptions.

On the other hand, raids on imported products at low prices are also increasingly putting pressure on the competitiveness of the domestic industry. Inaplas assessed that unfair trade practices such as dumping are one of the main challenges that the government needs to respond to immediately.

To maintain the sustainability of the industry, business actors encourage the government to strengthen supporting policies, ranging from certainty of raw material supply, fiscal incentives to domestic market protection.

Although the pressure is still continuing, Inaplas is optimistic that the plastic industry can survive and slowly recover in the next few months as the supply conditions improve and the prices of raw materials stabilize.