In the city of Trenel, La Pampa province, Argentina, the General Pico meatpacking plant has fired 194 employees and halted operations at its three facilities. The firm, owned by Ernesto 'Tito' Lowenstein, known for creating the Paty brand, previously had a workforce of approximately 450. The company is facing a delicate financial situation, with debts amounting to 34 billion pesos—22 billion of which are owed to public banks—and a drastic decline in its activity level. According to the local newspaper El Diario de La Pampa, the electric cooperative suspended power supply due to non-payment, further worsening the production situation. In less than a month, the company's daily cattle slaughter for internal consumption dropped from 600 to less than 50 heads. This is compounded by the existence of over 1,000 bounced checks totaling more than 12 billion pesos, corresponding to payments to animal and service suppliers. The business sector argued that it lacks the funds to pay salaries and proposed a payment of 500,000 pesos per employee. On Friday, a small group of workers held an assembly in front of the Trenel plant to define protest measures. 'We are 79 families from Trenel, and in a town of 7,000 inhabitants, that is a lot,' they stated, demanding the payment of severance pay that they claim should have been made on Wednesday. The former employees also criticized the lack of official information and pointed fingers at both the company and the union. In January, the company requested a preventive crisis procedure, which was not approved and expired on the 31st of that month. 'Maintenance staff is working, human resources remains active, a truck with small items left the premises. They tell us they are in crisis, but they continue to operate,' they expressed. Finally, they emphasized that they have received no responses from the union, which they accused of not having appeared at any time to support the conflict, a scenario that directly impacts the local economy and leaves nearly 200 families without income.
