Barcelona, Catalonia recorded 199 resolved redundancy programmes, known as EREs, between January and April 2026, a 14.3% increase on the same period in 2025. The programmes affected 5,297 people, according to the Observatori de Treball i Model Productiu.
Experts cited by Europa Press said the rise is linked to market changes and production needs, not to companies running into financial trouble. Cases mentioned include Ficosa, Nestlé and Nissan, as firms adjust their workforces to changing conditions.
Pere Vidal, a labour lawyer and UOC professor, said only about 22% of EREs in Catalonia are based purely on economic reasons. He said many companies are acting in advance to adapt to market shifts rather than waiting until losses appear.
Ester Oliveras, a professor at UPF's Faculty of Economics and Business, said profitable companies also need to adapt to changes in their competitive environment. She said waiting until losses appear can make it harder for firms to recover.
Vidal pointed to automotive, food, logistics and services as the main sectors affected. He said the automotive sector is moving towards electric vehicles, while logistics and services are being reshaped by artificial intelligence and process optimisation. The Catalan government's Ministry of Business and Labour said robotisation, AI, digitalisation and the green transition are driving a process of productive transformation.
At the same time, the ministry said Catalonia has record employment figures, with more than 3.9 million people affiliated with Social Security in April. Oliveras described the trend as a slimming down of company structures, especially in administrative roles and highly automatable sectors.
Both experts said there is no mass destruction of jobs at present, and stressed the need for re-employment plans and training. They also noted that temporary redundancy programmes have largely given way to permanent ones, with 2,977 people affected by permanent redundancy programmes and 2,050 by contract suspension programmes between January and April.