A thousand jobs lost
03/11/2008
A leading Spanish newspaper has published a report saying the footwear sector in the province of Alicante shed 1,000 jobs in the first half of this year.
The article in El País said the industry was still of great importance in the province, which is the mainstay of Spain’s footwear production. In the town of Elda, for example, it said 60% of people in employment had jobs in footwear companies. But it pointed out that in the month of August alone, two factories in Elche and one in Petrer had closed down.
The newspaper went on to quote a professor of applied economics at the university of Alicante, Josep Antoni Yborra, as saying that the two main mistakes footwear producers in the area had committed had been to allow skilled workers to drift away from the industry because of unsatisfactory working conditions, and a failure to build up a strong supply base in the local area.
The general secretary of the local footwear manufacturers' association, José Orts, said that with the world economy in its present poor state, people would continue to buy shoes, although perhaps fewer pairs than before, which meant that the industry still has a future.
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