In April 2002, the Fontaneda biscuit factory in Aguilar de Campoo (Castilla-León, Spain) was threatened with closure by its owner, the multinational United Biscuits. The announcement met with fierce protests from the workforce and the inhabitants of Aguilar de Campoo, and the closure was suspended pending negotiations between management and the plant's workers' committee.
Download article in original language : ES0205201NES.DOC
In April 2002, the Fontaneda biscuit factory in Aguilar de Campoo (Castilla-León, Spain) was threatened with closure by its owner, the multinational United Biscuits. The announcement met with fierce protests from the workforce and the inhabitants of Aguilar de Campoo, and the closure was suspended pending negotiations between management and the plant's workers' committee.
The Fontaneda biscuit factory - one of the oldest in Spain - was founded in 1881 in Aguilar de Campoo (Castilla-León), converting this town, which now has 7,000 inhabitants, into the heart of Spanish biscuit production and an industrial centre in a basically rural region. In the 1980s, Fontaneda had 1,000 workers, mostly women. In 1996, with the workforce reduced to 600, it was sold to the UK-based multinational United Biscuits, itself now controlled by the US-owned Nabisco. It continued to reduce its staff to stand at 212 workers in early April 2002. However, it is still an important focus of economic activity in Aguilar de Campoo.
In early April 2002, United Biscuits management in Spain — where it has seven factories, 1,200 employees and a turnover of EUR 240 million — decided to close the Aguilar de Campoo factory and move production to plants in Navarre and the Basque Country. It claimed that there had been losses in the type of biscuits produced in Aguilar and low productivity at the plant. Nevertheless, total sales in Spain have risen by 8% so far in 2002 in comparison with the previous year.
The Aguilar de Campoo workers' committee, which had not been consulted on the closure, rejected it and accused the regional government of a lack of responsibility for not opposing a measure which is within its realm of competence. The whole town started a bitter fight to avoid the closure, with general strikes and demonstrations, and management locked in the factory. The regional and central government have now also come out clearly against the measure.
Critics claim that United Biscuits' strategy has been a textbook example of poor practice. They allege that five years ago it purchased the Fontaneda factory for next to nothing, then obtained subsidies from the regional government of Castilla-León, took advantage of the Fontaneda brand name and is now leaving with the profits because one of its seven Spanish factories is beginning to perform badly. Its justification, also criticised in some quarters, is that 'this factory must be sacrificed for the overall continuity of the Spanish project.'
United Biscuits has made a number of offers to the Fontaneda workforce. Half of the workers may be relocated in other factories, some will take pre-retirement, and some will be provided with other facilities to set up some type of business (they can even use the factory premises for several years). The workers' committee and the workforce have rejected these offers, stating they are not only defending their jobs, but those of many other citizens of Aguilar de Campoo who depend on the factory - eg those working in bars, shops, hotels and workshops - and that above all they are defending the dignity of the town.
On 25 April, after a month of dispute, the company announced a 'truce': the factory will go back into production until some type of agreement is reached in the negotiations with the workers' committee. The future of the factory therefore remains uncertain.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2002), Fontaneda biscuit factory faced with closure, article.
