The German factory, one of Seia’s largest employers, laid off 130 workers last Friday. At issue are the “crisis in the European market and the war in Ukraine”.
In recent months the company had already presented some difficulties and the proof of this is that the «soles and painting section had already been closed» and in the assembly section «workers had been laid off», recalls the local mayor. Furthermore, more than 200 workers were at home for two months, in February and March, waiting for new orders, which did not arrive. This time it is the sewing section that will be reduced, from «six work lines to three», as Luciano Ribeiro told O INTERIOR. According to the Senense mayor, the 130 workers laid off were chosen «taking into account their versatility», the level of absenteeism, the content of their duties». “Personal and family situations” were also considered, so that those in which “the effects of dismissal were less significant on their personal and financial life” were chosen.
The Chamber of Seia has been in contact with the company’s management. Luciano Ribeiro states that he was “warned that ARA was going to summon the workers in the sewing section and they were going to carry out a collective dismissal”. The mayor added that the administration “claims that the international situation, particularly since 2022 with the war in Ukraine, as Russia and the countries involved represented 20 percent of the brand’s sales”, is affecting the business. ARA footwear will continue to be produced at the Seia factory – the brand’s only unit operating in Portugal. Luciano Ribeiro emphasizes that «the administration remains committed and will continue to work with around 550 workers».
As for the future of the dismissed employees, the mayor of Senense guarantees that the municipality is “directly monitoring the situation with the company and working with the Institute of Employment and Professional Training (IEFP) to have access to the profile of these people in order to help and try to understand each person’s situation.”
ARA Calçados was founded in 1949, in Germany, and officially established itself in Portugal in December 1974. The Seia production unit was opened in May 1991 and is the only factory of the group that continues to operate in our country, being one of the main employers, producers and exporters in the footwear sector, not only in Seia, but throughout the country.
