Japanese firm Fast Retailing Co., which owns the popular clothing brand Uniqlo, has asked its 10 employees in Dhaka to stay home and suspended travel to Bangladesh in the aftermath of the terror attack at a city eatery that left 20 people dead on Friday. The company is one of many that has manufacturing units in Bangladesh, which earns 80% of its export earnings from the garments industry. The company's spokesperson told Reuters that "all but critical travel has been suspended".

Experts believe several of the world's major clothing brands could pull out of Bangladesh if the conflict situation worsens, and consider moving to other countries in South and South East Asia. Swedish clothing brand H&M released a statement on Sunday saying they were "following the developments closely".

The garment industry provides 40 lakh jobs in Bangladesh. These manufacturing units of several major firms have been criticised for the dangerous, sweatshop-like conditions that workers face.