Marie ClaireHistorical textile company based in Vilafranca (Castellon), standing on the edge of the cliff. Only a miracle can save him. Company management submitted an employment regulation filing (ERE) on termination in less than a month, conveying its intent to file for bankruptcy and cease operation to workers’ representatives this afternoon. However, IIn a desperate attempt to prevent the disappearance of the company, the company is looking for investors who will allow it to continue its operations, albeit with a much smaller workforce than the current one.
The financial situation of the company, which was founded in 1907 and specializes in the manufacture of pantyhose and underwear, has been very fragile for some time. And at this last moment year The company received 21 million euro in public aid. The company activated its tenth ERTE earlier in the year, affecting 140 of its 230 employees, a staff member who should theoretically join their duties on July 1. In the end, they won’t, because the B2TEX business group (Marie Claire’s owner for a little over two years) has reported workers that the debt is so high that they have no choice but to close the doors. The interruption will take place on June 20.
Els Ports textile company sentenced to death (workers and company representatives will start negotiating ERE next week), but the management of the company weeks negotiating with their main creditors and trying to find an investment group that will enable them to continue with a small portion of their operations. The aim of B2TEX will be to outsource some production lines and have a very small staff of 30 to 40 people in Vilafranca. Again, The company itself is aware that this operation has little chance of going well. and this is how it was communicated to the workers who took it for granted that they would go on strike.
He says the company has a plan.
Although Marie Claire’s management has notified staff of an ERE eradication practice, B2TEX is officially speaking of “financial and operational restructuring to relaunch the brand.” In a statement the firm plans to launch in June, finally bringing it to market this Tuesday, guarantees that it has initiated a recovery plan whose purpose is to “guarantee long-term viability.” A plan that involves finding a way out of the obligations it has accumulated over the past five years and outsourcing certain production lines “with the aim of being more competitive in the face of the high cost of production in Spain”. A measure that will always be “accompanied by a staff restructuring plan,” according to the company.
Where is the public aid?
The news that Marie Claire is more than likely to shut down is a jug of cold water for workers (some of whom have been with the company for over 35 years) as well as residents of the Els Ports area. especially considering that Generalitat Valenciana injected 21 million euros (9.5 million in June 2021 and 12 million in the same month of 2022) to ensure the viability of a company vital to the interior of the province. A moneyAs the company itself admits, it only served to settle outstanding debts with workers and suppliers.
WITHOnly a small portion of this aid was allocated to the purchase of machinery for the company’s re-start or to improve production.The decline in demand for tights and underwear and the increase in competitiveness, which, together with the increase in costs, caused the disappearance of the company.