Salmon Industry Celebrates ‘Salmon Worker Day’ Amid Mass Layoffs and 90 Workplace Deaths in Chiloé

Original article: Festejo patronal: Salmoneras celebraron el ‘Día del Trabajador’ en Chiloé en medio de despidos masivos y 90 muertes laborales

Salmon Industry Celebrates ‘Salmon Worker Day’ in Quellón Amid Mass Layoffs, 90 Fatalities, and Labor Precarization Accusations

In what labor organizations deem an attempt to «clean up their image,» the business group SalmonChile A.G., along with several transnational corporations and the Quellón municipality, commemorated the «Salmon Worker Day» last Sunday, February 15, as reported by affiliated media.

This event, held near the «Pacific Star» plant of Salmones Austral in Quellón, took place against a backdrop of serious turmoil for the industry: the onset of massive layoffs affecting hundreds of jobs and a tragic record of 90 workers who have died over the past 13 years, as confirmed by the Ecoceanos Center.

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The irony of the event was immediately criticized by local union leaders. The celebration, which included a marathon, gastronomic tastings, and raffles, was sponsored by industry giants such as Salmones Antártica (Nissui Corporation), Multi X (Cargill/Mitsui), and Camanchaca, among others. However, just two days prior, the host company, Salmones Austral, had laid off more than 300 workers from its processing plant, as highlighted by Ecoceanos.

This figure is compounded by layoffs initiated by AquaChile and Marine Farm, primarily affecting employees with precarious «task-based» contracts, a model that union leaders reported to Ecoceanos undermines job security and hinders unionization. «Salmon workers have nothing to celebrate,» emphasized Gustavo Cortés, a union leader from Quellón, in an interview, recalling that January had already been a «tragic» month for the industry.

At the heart of the patronal commemoration is the shadow of eight workers who have died just in 2026. The latest tragedy occurred on January 28, when the sinking of the vessel «Koñimó I» in the Reloncaví Estuary claimed the lives of six crew members working for Salmones Austral. Days earlier, diver Manuel Tamayo had died at an Australis Seafoods farming center in the Aysén region. With these incidents, Chile solidifies its position as the country with the highest workplace mortality rate in global salmon aquaculture, surpassing nations like Norway and Canada, according to Ecoceanos records accounting for 90 victims between March 2013 and January 2026.

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While the industry celebrated, represented by Pablo Moraga, justified the event to Salmonexpert as a necessity to «generate a space for relaxation» and «strengthen unity,» organized workers provided stark counterpoints. Union sources estimated attendance at only around 300 people, far from the 2,000 claimed by the industry. Cortés stressed that the true «Salmon Worker Day» should be a day of reflection on labor precarization, subcontracting, and «unacceptable levels of workplace accidents».

He added: «Workers themselves must decide how to celebrate their day, and prevent this date from being used to whitewash the industry’s image,» he concluded, echoing the sentiments of the grassroots in an archipelago where the push for productive expansion aimed at doubling output by 2040 starkly contrasts with the precarious conditions of those who support the industry with their labor.

For more details, follow this link to Ecoceanos’ publication:

Business Leaders Celebrate ‘Salmon Worker Day’ Amid Labor Precarization and Increasing Mass Layoffs in Chiloé Archipelago