The beginning of 2025 brought more layoffs in the Milei era, but not only in the public sector but also in the private sector. This week it is about the Euro refrigerator, located in Villa Gobernador Gálvez, in the province of Santa Fe, who communicated the dismissal of more than 70 workers through a WhatsApp message.
The company had already implemented a voluntary retirement plan during 2024, although no official figures are available on the number of workers who accepted this option or the terms offered. According to internal sources, the lack of job alternatives and the economic difficulties in the region led many employees to reject retirements, prioritizing the stability of formal employment. That is why the company would have made the drastic decision to start 2025 with around 75 dismissals.
In its best years, the Euro meat processing plant, which is dedicated exclusively to processing casings for the production of sausages, employed more than 700 people. However, The economic crisis and a series of business decisions led it to reduce its staff to 250 workers in 2024. With the recent layoffs, the active workforce would have been reduced to less than 70 people, leaving the plant almost paralyzed.
Those affected, who include both young people in their 20s and people close to retirement, also denounced not only the lack of prior notice, but also the method of communication. Some of the workers were on vacation when they received the notification, which increased the unrest.
“It cannot be that after so many years of work they fire us on WhatsApp, without any explanation or alternatives,” said one of the fired employees, who had been in the company for more than a decade.
In this context, The protests were immediate. Since Wednesday, dozens of workers gathered in front of the plant, located in San Diego at 1900, behind the Saladillo stream. With burning platforms and cuts in the street, the protesters demand clear and fair responses from the company.
So far, the company has not issued official statements about the layoffs or reported on possible severance proposals or alternatives for employees. So it is that The lack of communication not only creates uncertainty among laid-off workers, but also among those still at the plant, who fear that this is just the beginning of a permanent closure.
Layoff festival
According to a report by the Confederation of Industrial Unions of the Argentine Republic (Csira), Between November 2023 and August 2024, 38,532 jobs were lost in the industry. If the construction and mining sectors are included, the figure rises to 126,050 jobs lost.
Furthermore, in the same period, 879 companies closed in the manufacturing industry, and 2,333 if mining and construction are also considered. The situation has led 86.6% of the unions surveyed to consider that activity has worsened since Javier Milei came to power, reflecting a climate of growing concern in the workplace.
The labor outlook was also strongly affected, with 60% of industrial unions reporting layoffs in the last quarter and a third of them pointing out difficulties on the part of companies in paying salaries. In addition, 82% of the unions surveyed indicated cuts in overtime, and 72% mentioned suspensions, licenses and early vacations for a percentage of workers.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
