Chiquita Fires 5,000 Banana Workers in Panama: $75M Loss Explained – All You Need to Know About the Strike

After a 24-day strike that halted operations in the country’s primary banana-producing province, Bocas del Toro, banana exporter Chiquita Panama terminated around 5,000 daily workers. Chiquita Panama, a subsidiary of Chiquita Brands, announced the layoffs on Thursday, citing what it referred to as an “unjustified abandonment of work” that began on April 28.

The strike, part of a larger nationwide protest against proposed changes to Panama’s social security system, disrupted banana harvesting and exports. Chiquita estimated losses of at least $75 million as a result of no operations, damaged crops and the inability to fulfil export contracts. Company sources said the layoffs constituted almost 77% of its workforce of 6,500 in Panama as per Reuters.

Affected workers were asked to report to its offices for severance payments from the employer. The strike occurred during rising public discontent regarding changes the government claims are necessary to keep the pension system afloat and that many workers fear will diminish or privatize any future benefits.

During his weekly press conference President Jose Raul Mulino supported Chiquita, referring to the strike as illegal and saying it left the company with no choice. “The company will have to respond appropriately and dismiss the people necessary to keep the company operational in Bocas,” he said while also blaming union leader Francisco Smith for the situation.

“This intransigence is not good,”  Mulino said, stressing that there is no other industry creating as many jobs for Panamanian citizens.

As protests and blockades continue in nearly every region of Panama, it exposes the escalating conflict between labor unions and the national government, with potential long term ramifications for the economy and labor stability in the country.