The supply problems caused in Spain by a strike by carriers are now being exacerbated by the energy crisis due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which forced several multinationals with factories in the country to stop their production and generated a lack of supplies that affects the industry and consumers.
Difficulties in receiving certain components, unloading production or paying the costs of maintaining their activity force these companies to apply new procedures for regulating temporary work or to grant holidays to their employees while waiting for the situation to normalize, while others are already resorting to layoffs.
One of the first to stop was the dairy sector, which on March 17 suspended its activity due to the interruption in the supply of milk and the transfer of the final product, according to the National Federation of the Dairy Industry.
French dairy group Danone has stopped production at two of its seven factories, while Swiss multinational Nestlé has warned its factories are “seriously affected”.
Strawberry and red fruit producers in Huelva, in the south of the country, suffer from a shortage of containers and packaging to remove the fruit and transport it to the markets, a problem that also affects other important products for Spain, such as olive oil, and multinationals such as the Heineken brewery.
Crisis hits automakers
For its part, the automotive sector was already experiencing problems such as the shortage of semiconductors even before the war in Ukraine and the transporters’ strike, which completes 13 days this Saturday, but the current situation makes its activity even more difficult.
Added to the punctual stoppages of two weeks ago was that of the American Ford, while the French Renault will stop its activity partially due to the shortage of parts.
German Volkswagen stopped last Monday, while SEG Automotive on Friday, as did Japan’s Bridgestone. Another tire manufacturer, France’s Michelin, has decided to completely or partially halt production at several factories this weekend and next due to “supply difficulties”.
The activity is also suspended at the steel mills of the Spanish companies Global Steel Wire, Reinosa Forgings & Castings and Cristian Lay, the French company Saint Gobain and the multinational ArcelorMittal.
The mining company Orovalle, dedicated to the extraction of gold, copper and silver, has proposed a temporary regulation that will affect 480 workers, 40% of its workforce.
Despite having closed a specific agreement with the government for the fishing sector, fleets from various parts of the country continue to be anchored waiting for the end of the transporters’ strike, still maintained by part of the category, while the majority reached an agreement with the government that provides assistance of around 1.05 billion euros to alleviate the rise in fuel prices.
On the other hand, for ranchers, the problem lies in the difficulties in supplying feed, with the risk of not being able to feed the animals, which is why some are rationing food, and even warn of the increase in deaths in swine exports due to this scarcity.
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