Duro Felguera Announces 180 Job Cuts as Part of Broader Restructuring Plan
Gijón, Spain – August 16, 2024 – Duro Felguera, a Spanish industrial engineering company, today announced an employment regulation file (ERE) that will result in the departure of 180 employees by June 2025. This move is a key component of the company’s viability plan, currently awaiting creditor approval, and follows a period of significant financial challenges.
The company filed for a third extension on July 30th to finalize its restructuring plan, leaving its future in legal limbo throughout August. According to Ángel Pastor, president of the Duro Felguera Company Committee, the collective dismissal is just one measure being taken to secure the business’s long-term future. While the number of affected employees is 69 fewer than initially proposed, the terms of the dismissal remain consistent with those negotiated in 2022.
Duro Felguera’s restructuring extends beyond workforce reduction. The plan focuses on shifting the company’s activities towards more profitable and less risky ventures. Past large-scale projects, such as the Djelfa thermal power plant in Algeria – a project valued at approximately €1.2 billion – contributed to the company’s near-bankruptcy despite a prior public bailout in 2017. The company’s financial difficulties stem, in part, from cost overruns and delays on the Djelfa project, which was contracted through a consortium including Duro Felguera, Siemens, and Condor.
As part of this reorganization, Duro Felguera has already sold its workshop – a historically significant facility – to Indra for an undisclosed sum. The company also intends to divest its headquarters in Gijón, Asturias, continuing to occupy the space as a tenant under a lease agreement. The sale of the Gijón headquarters is expected to generate approximately €8 million in revenue, according to sources familiar with the restructuring plan.The company is actively seeking potential buyers for additional non-core assets to further strengthen its financial position. Creditor meetings are scheduled for late September in Oviedo to vote on the proposed restructuring plan.
