"Collective redundancies and layoffs skyrocket, businessmen talk about deterioration of the economic situation", 6 May 2024

The number of workers affected by collective redundancies increased by 98% in the first three months of the year, compared to the same period in 2023. And in layoffs, the scenario is no better: close to 11,000 have their contracts suspended or are in reduced hours, more than double what was recorded last year...

The sectoral associations talk about the impact of the war, inflation, the retraction of consumption on the daily life of factories. "When orders break down and there is no work, companies only have two chances of survival: reduce the number of workers or resort to layoffs", comments the president of ATP - Textile and Clothing Association of Portugal, Mário Jorge Machado, waiting for the export figures for March to understand "if there are already some signs of improvement in the near horizon".

In the case of footwear, where unemployment increased by more than 80% in one year, between March 2022 and the same month of 2023, Paulo Gonçalves, communication director of the sector association APICCAPS notes that the current situation "reflects the deterioration of the scenario in 2023, after a record year, in 2022, with companies organizing themselves for the first time to go to subcontract to Morocco and Tunisia, for having completely exhausted the capacity to hire labour in Portugal."

[Translation via Google Translate]