Pearl factory management threatens to close down and move to Asia

ALTHOUGH talks at the Majórica pearl factory in Manacor have not broken down, they do seem to have come to a standstill, and the management is refusing to give way. Instead, it has threatened to close down and move production to Asia. The unions are fighting a viability plan which calls for the loss of 236 jobs, 58 percent of the workforce. Part of production has already been moved to China. Management claims that sales have dropped by more than 50 percent over the past three years, and drastic staff cuts are the only way forward.
But unions claim that the management has a secret agenda to close the plant and move the entire production to Asia.
The only jobs which would be salvaged, claim the unions, are those in the shops.
A spokesman said that they do not accept the need for such a high job loss and will do everything in their power to stop it.
The company has changed hands several times in recent years, and this has damaged the company's image, management sources said.
The unions blame the situation on bad management and lack of investment.
The unions have also accused the management of wanting to speculate with the sale of the factory, on prime real estate land.
The Manacor council, which wants production kept in the town, has suspended licences for building, demolition or dividing land into plots in the factory area, to prevent speculation. The move has been slammed as insufficient by the opposition.