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After a billionaire gap, Lojas Americanas begins a wave of layoffs and, for now, the cuts affect outsourced employees in Rio de Janeiro. São Paulo could be the next state.
Lojas Americanas, one of the biggest retailers in Brazil that last January 19 entered into judicial recovery, started this Tuesday (31) the layoffs of outsourced professionals. According to information, the cuts began in Rio de Janeiro, headquarters of the company that was founded in 1927. The next stage should be in São Paulo, where the company has a greater number of stores and distribution centers (DCs).
Americanas deny layoffs and claim they are just interrupted contracts
As layoffs in Rio de Janeiro are linked to indirect employees, but should also be extended to personnel hired under the CLT regime. In other squares, where there are fewer points of sale, as in Porto Alegre, for example, layoffs already impact employees who have been with the company for less than a year, also occasionally.
When approached, through its press office, Americanas denied the dismissals and stated that it only finalized some contracts with companies providing outsourced services. The company has approx. 45 thousand direct and 60 thousand indirect employees, adding about R$ 43 billion in debts with creditors appointed in the judicial recovery.
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Ricardo Patah, president of the Union of Commerce Workers and the General Union of Workers (UGT), claims to have been informed by Americanas that the cut had an impact on 50 outsourced employees from the technology sector, in Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre and São Paulo.
This Friday (3), there will be a meeting to discuss whether Americanas plans to hire new service providers or whether it is already a move to reduce third parties. Also this Wednesday (1), the union held a meeting with the Public Ministry of Labor for the case to be discussed.
Rio de Janeiro Commerce Workers Union was not informed about the layoffs
Patah points out that the union has dealt with other distressed retailers such as Mappin, Mesbla and G. Aronson, and maintains a vigilant stance on labor rights. The president points out that in the case of Mappin, at the end of the 90s, for example, it was the union that discovered that the company was going through serious financial problems.
The monthly fee deducted from the payroll was not being directed to it. Companies that enter into judicial recovery, in general, reduce the number of employees before the request, so that debts with rescissions are also included in the process, providing for some flexibility.
However, as it was being pressured by creditors, Americanas anticipated its plans and ended up making the request for recovery before being able to carry out the layoffs, that is, the amount owed to the dismissed workers will not be able to enter the judicial recovery process and must be paid by the company.
O Trade Union of Rio de Janeiro stated that it had not received information about such dismissals. The entity, alongside trade union centrals, announced that it will carry out an act in defense of the network's workers. The demonstration is scheduled to take place this Friday (3), in Cinelândia, in downtown Rio.
Americanas will not be able to hire new employees due to the judicial recovery
On Monday (30), representatives of trade unions from different regions of Brazil met with the Minister of Labor and Employment, Luiz Marinho, to discuss the impacts of the recovery of Americanas on workers in the sector.
According to the judicial specialist, lawyer Filipe Denki, to dismiss, the company does not need authorization from the Justice. Denki says that Americanas undergoing judicial recovery cannot increase expenses without authorization, that is, it cannot hire employees.
Expense cuts such as store closures, for example, should not necessarily be communicated to the courts either.
