On Monday afternoon, the union at Establecimientos Colonia, owned by MBRF, accepted a proposal from the Ministry of Labor and the company to reduce the plant's payroll costs, allowing slaughter operations to resume next week.
The company's cost-cutting proposal includes reducing the workforce by between 120 and 150 employees. According to a company source, the downsizing is being carried out through a voluntary separation agreement, with some workers having already left the plant and others expected to do so in the coming days.
Colonia will retain a workforce capable of processing around 600 cattle per day, down from the previous capacity of about 700 head per day.
Establecimientos Colonia has been idle since the last week of February and will have accumulated more than four months without slaughter activity. So far this year, the plant has processed 17,145 cattle. Meanwhile, MBRF has continued operating its other three plants in Uruguay —Tacuarembó, Cledinor, and Inaler (the latter since the second week of April).
