Argentina: Government moves forward with a new wave of layoffs, 20.000 people

The percentage of layoffs will be “between 15% to 20%” of the total of over 70,000 contracts of state workers, who will be notified in the coming hours.

Thousands of contracts of non-permanent state workers are set to expire on March 31st. This is the date established by the government of Javier Milei to carry out a reduction in the National Public Administration.

In this context, government sources confirmed to Ámbito that the percentage of layoffs will be “between 15% to 20%” of the total of over 70,000 contracts of state workers, which will be notified in the coming hours.

It is worth noting that on December 23rd, the Executive Branch published Decree 84/2023, which established a three-month renewal for contracted workers. During this period, the Government conducted a survey to determine which workers would remain on the payroll.

According to the General Secretary of the main state employee union, “if the government is going to proceed with the reduction of between 20% and 30% of contracted workers, considering that there are a little over 70,000 whose contracts expire on March 31st, we would be facing between 14,000 and 21,000 layoffs.”

The union leader warned that they “will not tolerate unjustified layoffs,” and noted that the union will convene a delegate assembly in the coming days to define a new course of action.

The state workers’ union considers the recent wage increase to be an attempt by the government to “disrupt the strike measures.”

Days ago, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni said that “no one who is working and is useful to the people will have their contract terminated,” adding that he did not understand the concern.

There will be strike measures affecting key areas for exports, ports, airports, and customs, which were suspended after the government’s call to address the wage and layoff demands being pursued by the union.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR See More

Gabriel Micillo

Gabriel is a certified public accountant graduated from UNNE (National University of the Northeast, Argentina) and a software developer, currently pursuing a Master's degree in Finance and Economics. With nearly 8 years of experience working for accounting firms and brokerage firms. Concurrently, he has produced economic and financial reports on the current state of regional economies for the clients of the establishments where he has worked. Additionally, he assisted colleagues like Ignacio Teson in the drafting and editing of articles on similar topics in English language.

Mexican Peso Drops Sharply Against the Dollar as Oil Prices Surge

4 months ago

Save

El Salvador and Argentina Partner to Boost Crypto Innovation Across Latin America

2 yrs ago

Save

Mexican Peso Surpasses 20 per Dollar as U.S. Election Nears

2 yrs ago

Save