The multinational Bimbo has shown itself willing to “study all proposals” made by public administrations to save the Valladolid factory, which employs 166 workers, and which is scheduled to close on December 31.
“At Grupo Bimbo we appreciate the interest shown by the institutions in the process of ceasing the activity of the Valladolid factory. We are committed to studying all proposals that they be sent with those that Grupo Bimbo is already analyzing and we will respond to them within the negotiating committee as we have always done,” assured the company when questioned by elEconomista.es.
The company was responding to the letter sent last week by the Ministry of Industry, the regional government of Castilla y León and Valladolid City Hall to avoid the closure of the Valladolid factory, on which 166 people directly depend.
In the letter, the three administrations propose the creation of a working group to study different options to avoid the closure of the facilities. One of them was the possibility of increasing production, for which they proposed different lines of support both in investment and financing to stimulate activity.
Second, the ministry, the board of directors and the municipal council recommended working to identify possible industrial solutions in the form of inverters that they can continue the industrial activity of the factory with the current level of employment.
Finally, they proposed as a third option to identify potential buyers of the production plant for activities similar to those currently carried out by the Grupo Bimbo factory, with the guarantee of current employment.
The signatories of the document affirmed that, While these solutions are sought, factory activity must continue in full force, “although during the negotiation of an industrial agreement, workers and the company can reach whatever labor agreements they want.”
Municipal motion
Precisely, this morning, the Valladolid City Council unanimously approved an institutional motion during the municipal plenary session. in support of the maintenance of the Bimbo factory and direct and indirect employment, as well as the willingness to collaborate with the company to avoid closure and seek industrial and alternative solutions.
The motion reached the plenary with the support of all training, Therefore, given the unanimous agreement, no debate was necessary and the mayor, Jesús Julio Carnero (PP), read the text of the motion.
After the announcement, which the motion describes as “sudden” – on September 18 of Bimbo’s decision to close its factory in Valladolid with a history of more than 50 years of production of pastries – the Town Hall first commits to support the maintenance of Bimbo in the city as well as direct and indirect jobs, which total around 200 workers.
In the agreement, the Valladolid City Hall is willing to work with the company to avoid closure and seek industrial and alternative solutions that enable the viability of the Bimbo factory located in the San Cristóbal industrial zone of the city.
Likewise, it is agreed that the Consistory, in collaboration with the Junta de Castilla y León and with the Spanish Government, through the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, undertakes to establish a common front to maintain the productive fabric and employment in Valladolid.
In the statement of reasons for the request, the company’s announcement is considered “a hard blow” for the city and for all the families whose life history has been and is linked to the activity of the factory.
Thus, although it is understood in the text that decisions “may be motivated by complex factors of commercial strategy”, the Municipal Council considers that this measure of Bimbo “can’t separate himself from the human factor” who they say made this company “great.”
