Mexico City Accuses Retail Sector of Layoffs

When President López Obrador presented his government’s plan to deal with the spread of COVID-19 across the country, he announced that he would expose to the media companies that carried out unjustified layoffs during this process. Said and done. Yesterday, Claudia Sheinbaum, Head of Mexico City’s government, fulfilled the president’s promise and made public the names of those companies that had not complied with the government’s demands. One of the most affected sectors, according to Soledad Aragón, Mexico City’s Minister of Labor, is the retail sector.

According to Aragón, 123 companies incurred in unjustified dismissals since the government announced confinement measure, although she stressed that most of them are outsourcing companies in the construction sector. All of them will receive a notification from the government to explain the causes for dismissal and in case layoffs are unjustified, companies will receive a financial fine that will depend on the seriousness of their actions. The Mexico City government carried out 249 investigations between April 3 and April 24 and voluntary dismissals and temporary contracts stand out, something that the Ministry of Labor continues to corroborate before making a final decision.

Among the sectors researched, retail was one of the most affected. The list includes companies such as Alsea, Office Depot, Toks, Farmacias San Pablo, Sumesa, Soriana and Palacio de Hierro, as well as others such as El Portón, Starbucks, Taco Naco and Estrella Roja del Sur. If it is proven that these companies have not complied with their workers labor rights, fines could range from MX$21,720 (US$913.9) to MX$434,440 (US$18,280.7).

The companies with the most unjustified layoffs according to city offcials are Excelencia y Calidad en Seguridad Privada Atlántico (1,072), Construcciones Yamila (1,662), Randstad México (951), Orión Integración, Desarrollo y Talento (452), Servicios Corporativos Recórcholis (353), Holding de Restaurantes Alsea (292), Brillo y Blanco (244) and Grupo Parisina (173). Aragón also gave positive examples of companies that had respected the government’s requirements, such as Dentix Mexico, Juguetrón, Flexi, Sebn Mx, Ternium México, Faurecia, General Motors, Volkswagen and FCA.