This makes Freixenet one of many first firms in Catalonia to answer the area’s worst drought on file with a layoff plan. The corporate has offered the plan to Catalan labour authorities and submitted it to the employees’ unions.
Because the influence of fossil-fuel pushed local weather change intensifies throughout southern Europe, drought since 2021 has triggered a scarcity of grapes. Final yr this was acute within the firm’s dwelling space of Penedes, the cava producer mentioned. Beneath Spain’s ERTE regulation, firms which might be going through distinctive circumstances can quickly lay off staff or cut back their working hours.
“The measure … is geared toward guaranteeing the viability of the enterprise and preserving employability with a view to face exterior causes and drive majeure attributable to the extreme drought,” Freixenet mentioned. Unions representing the employees didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Vineyards throughout Catalonia’s famend Penedes cava-producing area are so parched that the roots of 30-year-old vines have died, leaving shrivelled purple and inexperienced grapes languishing beneath the extraordinary solar.
