Spain's layoff wave that never ended: from 2008 to the pandemic
Over 20,000 layoffs recorded since 2008: the citizen-led log that exposed the true scale of Spain's ERE layoffs, from the financial crisis to the pandemic.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Over 20,000 layoffs in one thread: chronicling job destruction in Spain
The 2008 financial crisis was no passing storm. What began as a list of ERE layoffs on a forum became a fossil record of Spain's employment bloodbath. Since September 2008, when an anonymous user started noting companies with cutbacks, the list grew to over a hundred cases in the first months alone. Airbos, Acerinox, Nissan, Acciona... names that spelled mass job losses.
From temporary layoffs to insolvency: when EREs don't save you
The first blow was harsh: Airbus announced 3,000 layoffs in November 2008. Acerinox, 1,835. But what initially looked like temporary suspensions soon became permanent closures. The case of Esteban Ikeda, a Nissan seat maker, illustrates the trap: in January 2009, it went from a temporary ERE to filing for bankruptcy. "You use up your unemployment thinking you'll return and then they shut you down," summed up one trinc of the log. The shift from temporary to structural accelerated.
The endless list: entire sectors under scrutiny
The buildup was relentless. In April 2009, Nissan proposed an ERE for 1,000 employees in Barcelona. Porcelanas Bidasoa, Papelera de Besaya, Toypes: new companies joined every week. Some, like the Master Cadena chain, entered suspension of payments with 1,200 employees. Others, like the former Uralita, filed EREs for 22 workers. The list made no distinctions: automotive, textile, hospitality, construction. Even the Hotel La Cigüeña closed five months after opening.
The invisible iceberg: EREs that never make the news
One of the most revealing findings of the log is the existence of mass layoffs that barely made it into the official press. In December 2008, Sony's factory in Sabadell terminated 300 work and service contracts, permanent seasonal workers with years of seniority. "Officially there's no ERE, no news," denounced a contributor. The fact stayed in the bars of Vallés, not in the headlines. The citizen-led tracking captured what official statistics often ignore.
The pandemic as an accelerator
The thread, with over 2,000 accumulated replies, revived with the ELbichito-19 crisis. Public aid in the form of ERTE furlough schemes did not prevent many companies from moving to permanent ERE layoffs. In 2020, Siemens Gamesa closed its Aoiz factory with 239 layoffs; Tubacex announced 500. Mercedes' director already warned: "Maybe the same jobs can't be maintained." The aid party wasn't going to last forever, and EREs returned with force.
The log, started in 2008 and reactivated in 2020, has no end. Whoever fed it counted 8,000 affected just up to February 2020. The question floating is whether the next wave will be worse. Meanwhile, the thread remains open, waiting for new entries.
Related debates on the forum
The 2008 financial crisis was no passing storm. What began as a list of ERE layoffs on a forum became a fossil record of Spain's employment bloodbath. Since September 2008, when an anonymous user started noting companies with cutbacks, the list grew to over a hundred cases in the first months alone. Airbos, Acerinox, Nissan, Acciona... names that spelled mass job losses.
From temporary layoffs to insolvency: when EREs don't save you
The first blow was harsh: Airbus announced 3,000 layoffs in November 2008. Acerinox, 1,835. But what initially looked like temporary suspensions soon became permanent closures. The case of Esteban Ikeda, a Nissan seat maker, illustrates the trap: in January 2009, it went from a temporary ERE to filing for bankruptcy. "You use up your unemployment thinking you'll return and then they shut you down," summed up one trinc of the log. The shift from temporary to structural accelerated.
The endless list: entire sectors under scrutiny
The buildup was relentless. In April 2009, Nissan proposed an ERE for 1,000 employees in Barcelona. Porcelanas Bidasoa, Papelera de Besaya, Toypes: new companies joined every week. Some, like the Master Cadena chain, entered suspension of payments with 1,200 employees. Others, like the former Uralita, filed EREs for 22 workers. The list made no distinctions: automotive, textile, hospitality, construction. Even the Hotel La Cigüeña closed five months after opening.
The invisible iceberg: EREs that never make the news
One of the most revealing findings of the log is the existence of mass layoffs that barely made it into the official press. In December 2008, Sony's factory in Sabadell terminated 300 work and service contracts, permanent seasonal workers with years of seniority. "Officially there's no ERE, no news," denounced a contributor. The fact stayed in the bars of Vallés, not in the headlines. The citizen-led tracking captured what official statistics often ignore.
The pandemic as an accelerator
The thread, with over 2,000 accumulated replies, revived with the ELbichito-19 crisis. Public aid in the form of ERTE furlough schemes did not prevent many companies from moving to permanent ERE layoffs. In 2020, Siemens Gamesa closed its Aoiz factory with 239 layoffs; Tubacex announced 500. Mercedes' director already warned: "Maybe the same jobs can't be maintained." The aid party wasn't going to last forever, and EREs returned with force.
The log, started in 2008 and reactivated in 2020, has no end. Whoever fed it counted 8,000 affected just up to February 2020. The question floating is whether the next wave will be worse. Meanwhile, the thread remains open, waiting for new entries.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (2051 replies).
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