Cencosud Workers Denounce Mass Layoffs Despite 186% Profit Surge

Unions grouped within the Cencosud Coordinating Committee have denounced a sweeping wave of layoffs carried out by the company in recent weeks, affecting employees at Jumbo, Santa Isabel, Easy, and Paris stores.

According to the labor coalition, the companies have declined to provide an official tally, but unions estimate that nearly 1,000 workers have been let go just since last Monday through today (October 1)—and the dismissals are continuing.

“This is an unacceptable practice. Since 2019 we have warned about chronic understaffing and the overload placed on already weakened teams. Today’s layoffs deepen that strain, hitting older workers especially hard—people for whom reentering the job market is almost impossible,” the Coordinating Committee said.

The most serious issue, workers added, is that Cencosud is invoking Article 161 of the Labor Code—“business needs”—as grounds for dismissal despite the lack of justification: during the first half of this year, the company reported profits of CLP 195,265 million, a 186% increase compared with the same period last year (Diario Financiero, August 7).

“A company expanding in Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and the United States cannot hide behind supposed ‘business needs’ while laying off hundreds of workers,” they said.

They also noted that the layoffs come just six months before the 42-hour workweek (Law 21.561) takes effect, which will reduce the number of employees able to benefit from this right.

“Cencosud points to automation, but in practice the new technologies have meant heavier workloads and more precarious conditions—forcing many workers to use their own devices for the company’s benefit,” the company’s union coordinating committee charged.

“Cencosud’s profits exist thanks to the work of its employees. Without workers, there is no expansion and no earnings,” the unions concluded, demanding that the company reverse these measures and open a genuine dialogue with labor organizations.

The unions that make up the Coordinating Committee are as follows:

National Union of Cencosud S.A. Workers. President, Claudio Sagardias.
National Union of Jumbo S.A. Workers. President, Sergio Fuentes.
Paris Portal Temuco Union. President, Ana María Tenorio.
Paris Arica Union. President, Dorys Godoy.
Easy Chillán Union. President, Jonathan Silva.
Easy San Bernardo Union. President, José Aravena.
Easy Talca Union. President, Víctor Ortiz.
Paris Rancagua Union. President, Mario Henríquez.
Paris Curicó Union. President, Rodrigo Rojas.
Paris Company Union, Administración Centro Est. Bandera. President, Vannesa Llanos.
Paris Temuco Centro Union. President, Pablo Palacios.
Easy Los Ángeles Workers’ Union. President, Yesica Reyes.
Paris San Bernardo Union. President, Patricia Contreras.
Easy Distribution Center Union. President, Eudes Cárdenas.
First Paris Curicó Workers’ Union. President, Etna Ponce.
Paris Barros Arana Union. President, Boris Martínez.
Union 1 Paris Talcahuano. President, Úrsula Riquelme.
Easy Temuco Union. President, Esteban Grollmus.
Autonomous Portal Ñuñoa Union. President, Máximo San Martín.
Paris Alto Las Condes 2 Union. President, Michel Roco.
Paris Administradora Ltda. Union. President, Ximena Reyes.
Paris Iquique Union. President, Felix Castillo.
Union 1 Paris Alto Las Condes. President, José Henríquez.
Paris Valparaíso Union. President, Mariela Olmos.
Paris Plaza Oeste Union. President, Guillermo Chávez.

El Ciudadano