Procter & Gamble (P&G), the multinational giant behind brands like Tide, Ariel, Gillette, Oral-B, Head & Shoulders, Vicks, and Whisper, is shutting down all operations in Pakistan.
The company entered pakistan in 1991, but decades of operation couldn’t save it from the harsh economic reality: weak consumer demand, skyrocketing trade duties, high electricity costs, and regulatory chaos.
This is not just a corporate exit—it’s a major disaster for pakistan, signaling thousands of job losses and a wider retreat of global multinationals. Here’s the brutal breakdown of why P&G and others are fleeing.
1. P&G’s Long Goodbye
After 34 years, P&G pakistan and Gillette pakistan Limited will cease all manufacturing and commercial operations. The company will only serve Pakistani consumers via regional operations, meaning local jobs, factories, and investment will evaporate overnight.
2. Thousands of Jobs at Stake
The closure puts thousands of employees at risk in a country already struggling with high unemployment and weak labor protections. This isn’t just a company leaving—it’s a humanitarian and economic blow.
3. Economic Challenges Were Too Much
Weak consumption trends, high trade duties, and regulatory hurdles pushed P&G to revise its financial outlook downward. Gillette Pakistan’s revenue fell nearly 50% in FY ending june 2025—a staggering collapse in a supposedly growing market.
4. Pakistan Is Losing Its Multinational Status
P&G isn’t alone. Shell, Pfizer, TotalEnergies, Telenor, and others have sold stakes or pulled out. Despite being the world’s fifth-most populous country, pakistan is becoming hostile to foreign investment, not a market to conquer.
5. High Costs and Weak Infrastructure
Former Gillette pakistan CEO Saad Amanullah Khan cited high electricity bills, regulatory pressures, and weak infrastructure as major deterrents. Multinationals can tolerate tariffs and taxes, but collapsing operational efficiency forces them out.
6. A Warning Sign for Pakistan
Every exit sends a message: “Your economy is risky, unstable, and expensive.” P&G’s departure should serve as a wake-up call to policymakers, but history suggests reforms may be slow or nonexistent.
7. Global Implications: Confidence Crisis
When giants like P&G leave, it shakes investor confidence worldwide. It tells foreign companies: pakistan is high-risk, low-reward, and even market giants cannot survive long-term here.
💀 Final Punchline
P&G’s exit is more than a corporate decision—it’s a symbol of Pakistan’s economic collapse. Jobs gone, factories closed, foreign confidence evaporated. The country must fix its broken system or watch multinationals disappear one by one.
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