Aftermath of Bangladesh garment factory fire felt by U.S. companies

11/28/2012

U.S. companies are feeling the heat of a Bangladeshi garment factory fire that claimed 112 lives.

Jesse Russell reports:

According to ABC News a witness to the fire said management at first thought it was a false alarm and caged workers in so they’d keep working instead of fleeing. According to an accounts book discovered by an AP reporter on the scene Disney, Sears, and Walmart were among the U.S. companies who had products produced at the plant. Walmart and Sears have both alleged that they knew of problems at the factory and had believed that no products that they carry were being produced there. They’ve both pledged to launch investigations. Walmart said it had prohibited suppliers from working with the company that owned the factory. Bangladesh’s interior minister alleged on Tuesday that the fire was actually the work of saboteurs and Bangladesh’s garment factories were safe. The weekend fire was one of two factory fires in the country in the last five days.