Blanco delays consultation on job cuts

Spanish clothing retailer Blanco has delayed a consultation with staff regarding a planned large reduction in jobs as employee representatives say they will go ahead with a series of strikes across Spain.

If Blanco goes ahead with its layoff plans, the move will become the third collective redundancy carried out in the last few years, totalling 900 job losses.

Union workers are planning to go on a 24-hour strike on October 21 and 28, followed by two more separate strikes scheduled November 4 and 11. In addition, group actions are scheduled to be staged in Madrid and Barcelona.

Blanco, a high street company backed by a fund managed by a Dubai-based investment bank, cut 189 jobs last year, adding to 711 job losses in 2013.

Based in Mostoles, Spain, Blanco has not yet confirmed the number of workers that could be affected by this year’s layoffs. It did, however, say the process is necessary to “ensure the profitability of the company and ensure its long-term future”.

Blanco’s previous owner, Saudi Arabian retailer Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair agreed to the sale of the retailer for 50 million riyals (about 93 million dollars) earlier in June.  

The sale came only two years after the Saudi Arabian business acquired Blanco from its administrators.