Staff layoff at Almirall pharmaceutical reduced from 250 to 180 workers

Barcelona (ACN).- The management of Barcelona-based Almirall pharmaceutical multinational and trade unions have signed an agreement on Monday, reducing the initially planned number of laid-off employees from 250 to 180. The document, which has mostly been ratified in production and research centres in Greater Barcelona as well as by the marketing network, also provides specific compensations for the workers aged 55 years and over, and the maximum compensations set by the law for the rest of the laid-off staff. According to the General Workers Union (UGT), 30% of the laid-off employees will correspond to voluntary redundancies, which will be proportionally distributed among the different groups of workers. In December, Almirall announced it was buying Aqua Pharmaceuticals, an American company specialised in dermatological treatments, through a $328 million transaction (equivalent to some €240 million).

The staff layoff at the Catalan multinational company, which started to be negotiated on the 20^th of December 2013, also intends for 30 workers to be able to keep their job, if they accept a substantial modification in their existing working conditions, including a 23.5% wage reduction, in both fixed and variable terms. Workers who chose such an option receive a linear compensation of €7,000 gross.

Maximum compensations for the workers aged 55 and over

The affected workers aged 55 and over will receive the maximum compensation set by the law along with additional compensations. The employees aged 55 will benefit from the highest possible compensation while the allocated amount will be decreased proportionally according to the workers’ age: the nearer to the retirement age, the lowest the compensations. This will guarantee an income that, on average, will correspond to 80% of the net wage received before going into retirement.

According the UGT trade union, for workers who are under 55 years-old, the compensation will amount to 45 working days per year prior to the 12^th of February 2012 [when the Spanish Government’s Labour Reform was approved] and to 33 days per year for the subsequent period, as well as an additional compensation of €13,000 gross. In any case, the compensation shall not exceed 720 days of wages or be set below €20,000.

The UGT deplored this layoff occurring “in a company with excellent financial and budgetary health and good prospects for benefits in 2014”. However, the trade union stressed the agreement was positive since “it significantly minimised the implementation of the multinational’s initial plans”.