Cemex Spain lay off 370 workers as cement consumption plummets

Cemex Spain has lodged an employment regulation (ERE) for 370 workers, 21.2% of the 1740 employees that the Mexican multinational has in the country.

The company justifies this measure of 'Horizon Plan' by the collapse in demand for cement in Spain, which "is putting at serious risk the future of this industry."

Other measures include reducing eight factories to three to produce cement. So, it keeps its integrated production at the plants of Morata de Jalon (Zaragoza), Lloseta (Baleares) and Alicante. The plant of Buñol (Valencia) will operate intermittently and Castillejo (Toledo), San Feliu (Barcelona) and Alcanar (Tarragona) will operate as grinding units.

According Cemex, these eight facilities produce 11Mt of cement, the equivalent of almost the entire consumption of this material in Spain so far this year.

Another axis of the plan involves "continue to insist" on policy cost savings and improving to increase competitiveness and boost the export of their products.

Cemex Spain  will reorganise its corporate structure and partner with a global provider of support services in administrative processes. "This will allow us to focus on manufacturing and marketing our products and serve and meet the needs of customers," the company argues.

Cemex reported a 19% reduction in cement sales in Spain in 2011, as reflected in its annual report. Spain is the third largest market of the group by number of cement factories, behind Mexico, which has 15, and the US  with 13, and accounted for 4% of the worldwide turnover of the group last year.

With this adjustment, the Mexican company joins Holcim, which last July entered into a ERE for 295 employees in Spain, and Cementos Portland, which has agreed to an adjustment for 291 workers in the area of ??cement and negotiates a second for 299 employees for the concrete division.