Constância, Portugal, Dec. 20, 2024 (Lusa) - The mayor of Constância (Santarém) announced on Friday that the Tupperware factory in the city will close on 8 January and lay off its 200 or so workers.
"Constância Town Council has learned that yesterday [Thursday], the company's workers were told it will close on 8 January 2025. Because of this difficult situation for our municipality and region, we leave a word of solidarity to all the workers and their families," wrote Mayor Sérgio Oliveira on the municipality's official website.
The Tupperware multinational's factory in Portugal, which has been operating since 1980, depended 100% on its US parent company, and the announcement of the bankruptcy filing had direct consequences for the Portuguese unit, which were known today, and which will leave the 200 workers who worked there unemployed.
"Yesterday [Thursday], there was a meeting with the Tupperware workers where they were told that the factory will only be working until 8 January. It will be the last day, and the 200 workers there will be made redundant," the mayor of Constância told Lusa today.
Noting that "the town hall and its services are available to help and support the workers as much as possible", Sérgio Oliveira said he had been "surprised" by the announcement that the factory was closing and hoped for a different outcome.
"This is sad news for the municipality of Constância and the whole region. Over the years, Tupperware has played a very important role in the number of direct and indirect jobs," he said.
Over the last few months, various political parties and union leaders have expressed concern about the uncertainty over the future of the 200 workers at the Tupperware factory in Montalvo, criticising the "lack of information" about the multinational's bankruptcy process.
Ricardo Rodrigues, from the Union of Workers in the Transforming Industries, Energy and Environmental Activities of the Centre-South and Autonomous Regions (SITE-CSRA), told Lusa that "the closure of Tupperware, if it were to materialise, would mean a tragedy for the hundreds of workers" and "would also be disastrous for the municipality of Constância, the region and the country", arguing that the problem "should be given the utmost attention and action by the state and, in particular, the government".
On 25 September, in a statement, the mayor of Constância said that the vice-president of Tupperware Europe did not know the future of the company, which was "in the negotiation phase with investors" and was "working to create a strategy to make the company more attractive".
He added that he had been informed that "they have stopped production in Tupperware Portugal, Belgium and South Africa because they have too much stock".
On 18 September, Lusa requested written clarification from the company but has not received a response to date.
Tupperware Brands voluntarily initiated the Chapter 11 process in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court. They reportedly obtained court approval in October to continue operating and facilitate a sale process to protect the brand.
According to AP, a US bankruptcy judge approved the sale of Tupperware Brands, paving the way for the company to emerge from Chapter 11 protection and continue to offer its products while undergoing restructuring.
The sale was still subject to closing conditions. Under the terms of the agreement, a group of creditors is buying the Tupperware brand and various operating assets for 23.5 million dollars in cash and more than 63 million dollars in debt reduction.
Tupperware agreed to the creditor takeover in October and expects to operate as The New Tupperware Co. after the deal is finalised.
MYF/ADB // ADB.
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