Freixenet staff begin four days of strike against the ERE

BarcelonaThe workers of the Freixenet Henkell mining company are called to strike from this Monday at ten o'clock in the evening to protest against theemployment regulation file (ERE), which should entail a 24% reduction in the workforce, according to information provided by the unions representing the group's works councils.

The workers' representatives will thus begin "a week of intense mobilizations," according to a statement from Comisiones Obreras (Workers' Commissions) – the group's majority union – which will include protests in both Sant Sadurní d'Anoia (Alt Penedès), where the company is headquartered, and in Barcelona. Specifically, on Wednesday morning, the workers will demonstrate between the Freixenet facilities in the municipality and the town hall, where they will read a manifesto. And on Thursday afternoon they will gather in front of the Parliament of Catalonia, in Barcelona, ​​​​"coinciding with the appearance of a representation of the Freixenet committees in the parliamentary labor committee, where they will discuss the ERE, the situation of the cava sector and the implications of this file on social, economic and labor matters in the Alt Penedès region," he adds.

Last April, Freixenet Henkell announced an ERE that would mean a workforce cut of up to 180 workers at both Freixenet and the Segura Viudas wineries, a subsidiary of the group, according to the company's calculations. The company's justification for filing the employment report was the serious disruptions in the wine industry, especially in Catalonia and the Penedès, due to the drought and the need to reorganize business operations, an explanation that the unions described as a "totally unfair and unacceptable measure" in a company that closed 2023 with a turnover of 1.23 billion euros.

ERTO last year

Last year, the company tried twice to get the Generalitat (Catalan government) to approve a temporary employment regulation file (ERTO) for 615 workers due to the lack of water resulting from the drought that affected grape production, but in the first attempt the Department of Labor rejected the request. On a second occasion, with different arguments, the Government did approve the application process at the end of 2024.

Since 2018, the majority of Freixenet's capital has been controlled by the wine company Henkell (a subsidiary of the multinational Geschwister Oetker), when the Ferrer and Bonet families accepted the German group's entry, which acquired 50.7% of the shares in exchange for €220 million.