According to the Patagonian Times, the move comes two months after the Japanese-owned company laid off some 300 other workers, also in Aysén and is a result of the ongoing problems in Chile’s once-booming farmed salmon industry.
The move has been heavily criticised by local politicians and labour organisations.
Fish Farmer Magazine says that the Region XI-based Truth and Justice Union insists the company has not been sufficiently transparent, while regional head of the Christian Democratic (DC) party, Iván Gutiérrez Loyola, says the company has betrayed not only its workers, but the Aysén Region as a whole.
“This is simply not the way things should be done,” the DC representative told the regional newspaper El Divisadero.
Salmon Antarctica Lays Off Another 200 Processors
CHILE - Approximately 200 salmon processors have been laid off after Salmones Antarctica decided to cease all processing operations at its Puerto Chacabuco site in Region XI, or Aysn, in Chile.