In Alt Penedès, bottle cap maker Guala Closures has told staff at its Olèrdola plant that it plans to start a redundancy process affecting 82 of the site’s 87 employees, according to union sources.
Negotiations between management and the works council are due to begin on Wednesday, 3 June. Employee representatives say they will reject the proposal and argue that it amounts to a delocalisation of work.
Union sources said products previously made in Olèrdola, including caps for brands such as Solán de Cabras and Vichy Catalán, have recently started being produced in Poland, where the group also has manufacturing centres. They said this is why the company now considers the Catalan plant unprofitable.
Guala Closures said the planned dismissals are part of an industrial reorganisation of its presence in Spain. In a statement sent to Ara, the company said it wants to transform the Olèrdola plant into a centre focused on customer service, quality and technical support.
The company also said the reorganisation includes strengthening operations at its plant in Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia. It added that the final details will depend on the consultation process with employee representatives in the coming weeks.
The Olèrdola site has more than a century of history and is one of Alt Penedès’s historic industrial centres. It began as Cápsulas Metálicas, changed ownership several times and was later acquired by Guala Closures. The plant currently makes caps for wines, including for Familia Torres, and aluminium caps for brands such as Vichy.
Workers have said the planned dismissals are expected to affect 20 employees over the age of 60, and that protests will take place. For more Catalonia business and employment coverage, see our news tag.