The Czech textile industry is reeling after the menswear company Vespa declared itself insolvent yesterday. It’s been hit by a combination of falling sales (down from CZK 100m annually to just half the amount) and rising wages. The difficulty in holding on to employees forced it to raise prices on its products in order to increase salaries, but problems multiplied as the Czech koruna has risen in value. The company is behind on wage payments and has promised to fulfill its obligations to workers as soon as possible. The company is located in the town of Prostějov which has a strong textile history, so it’s thought workers won’t have difficult finding new jobs.
