Brazilian footwear manufacturer, Alpargatas, which supplies several top brands including Mizuno and Timberland, has announced 600 job cuts at its factory in Veranópolis, Rio Grande do Sul. The move comes as a result of lower production at the facility following the company’s decision to transfer most of its production to its Natal units and João Pessoa, in the states of Rio Grande do Norte and Paraíba, both in the Northeast of the country. 

“Alpargatas has decided to transfer production to the North East because the cost of labour is much lower there than in the South. Today, this is a crucial factor in the fight against the competition from Asian footwear both inside and outside Brazil,” explained Gumercindo Moraes Neto, director of the sports goods department.

Alpargatas has begun recruiting at its Paraíba unit and expects to take on 3,150 employees by 2007. The João Pessoa and Santa Rita factories have already hired 400 workers since January and this figure is likely to rise to 1,050 by 2007, according to the company’s HR manager Florivaldo Alves dos Santos.