Freixenet workers begin week-long strike against mass layoffs

Employees at cava producer Freixenet began a four-day strike at 10pm on Monday evening – coinciding with the end of the afternoon shift.

Workers are protesting against the company's plan to lay off 180 members of staff – around 24% of the workforce – through a redundancy scheme (ERO).

A group of employees gathered from around 8:30pm to block entrances to the company's facilities in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, around 45km west of Barcelona in the Penedès region.

They plan to repeat this tactic at every change of shift throughout the strike.

The company has defended the layoffs, citing the "challenges" posed by climate change and the impact of drought over the past few years.

However, workers' committee president Antonio Domínguez said: "They're using this as an excuse to push for a new production model that amounts to killing cava while it's still alive." 

The strike at Freixenet comes one month after the company's announcement of the ERO layoff scheme, framed as "urgently" needed to ensure long-term viability.

The company claims that a lack of water has led to decreased production and increased costs, creating an economic "imbalance."

Unions, however, reject these justifications. They are calling for alternatives to the layoffs, arguing that the current crisis is temporary and should be addressed without job losses. 

Domínguez warned that Freixenet is using the drought as a pretext to lay the groundwork for a new business model that could spell the end of the cava industry.

"Now they're saying there are no grapes, so they've started making another sparkling wine that isn't cava and exporting it to other countries," the union leader explained tot the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

This new product, he said, "can be made in just four months and with far fewer workers," describing it as a "deception" for consumers.

Domínguez was referring to 'Freixenet Premium Sparkling Wine – Cuvée de España,' launched by the company a year ago to serve the German, Swiss, and Austrian markets during periods when grape supply within the Cava Denominació d'Origen (DO) region is insufficient.

"This is not a commitment to cava," he concluded.

Regarding negotiations over the layoffs, Domínguez is not optimistic.

He claims that things have moved backwards over the course of the five meetings to date, with the company now reportedly planning to target employees under the age of 50. 

At least two further meetings between the company and workers are expected before the consultation period ends on June 4.

A demonstration in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia has been called for Wednesday and the local council has also appealed to the Catalan government to intervene.