The Generalitat of Catalua has rejected the temporary employment regulation file (ERTE) due to causes of force majeure ash tree (Spanish subsidiary of the German group Henkell Freixenet) presented a week ago and affected a maximum of 615 workers, almost 80% of the workforce.
The Department of Business and Labor of the Government of Pere Aragons concludes that “the causes that justify force majeure do not exist”, as advanced today The newspaper. The documentation provided by the company justified the requested measure due to the impact of the following in the production of cava. ash tree It is estimated that water scarcity will cut its productive capacity by 30%. The Minister of the Generalitat points out that “it is not a sudden event” because “Catalonia has been suffering from drought for more than three years.”
In its response, the Catalan Executive points out that the company has other mechanisms to undertake a reorganization of employment, such as the so-called PEA ETOP (acronyms that correspond to “economic, technical, organizational or production” reasons).
Through a statement, ash tree It points out that “the reason for the request is still valid” and points out that “the serious lack of grapes and base wine for the production of cava leads to a massive reduction of work in the production processes.” In recent days, the unions had rejected the PEA and they urge the Cavista business group to look for alternatives that are not harmful to employees.
Regulatory Council of the DO Cava
After the presentation of the PEAthe general secretary of Agrarian Resources and Food Security of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fernando Mirandaannounced last week the Government’s intention to meet with the management of ash tree and with him Regulatory Council of the Cava Denomination of Origin to seek solutions and minimize the impact on the workforce of the proposed measure.
Less than two weeks ago, Henkell Freixenetthe subsidiary of German group Oetker who controls half of ash treeregister a net invoice of 1,230 million euros (excluding special taxes) in 2023, which represented an increase of 4.1% compared to the previous year (1,181 million).
Already in that presentation of last year’s results balance, the company warned about the effects of the drought. The co-director general of Henkell Freixenet and vice president of the group ash tree, Pere Ferrersaid that they faced this 2024 “with concern” due to “the uncertainty due to the lack of grape material derived from the severe drought since 2021 and with special impact in 2023 in the region of Peneds“.
alliance
In July 2018, Henkellsubsidiary of sparkling wines, wine and spirits Oetker Groupbought 50.7% of the shares of ash tree. He holding of German drinks became known as Henkell Freixenet starting in 2019 after the agreement with the Spanish brand.