Jainaga Seeks Full-Year ERTE for Whole Workforce at Arteixo Telecom

A Year‑Long Layoff Proposal Hits Arteixo Telecom

Sidenor chairman José Antonio Jainaga, currently pursuing a takeover bid for payment systems firm Azkoyen, has proposed a temporary redundancy plan (ERTE) that would affect every employee at Arteixo Telecom for up to twelve months.

Arteixo Telecom, which specialises in electronic cards and assemblies for healthcare, railway and defense customers, employs more than 100 people at its 6,000‑square‑metre plant in As Pontes, A Coruña. The company was bought by Jainaga just over a year ago and subsequently integrated into Ohmnia, Sidenor’s electronics division. With an annual production capacity of 180,000 components per hour, the site reported revenue of roughly €12 million and a profit close to €1 million in the latest available figures from 2023.

Trade union UGT, which first disclosed the proposal, called the move “disproportionate” given the “enormous impact” on the workforce. The union also criticised the company for failing to couple the layoff plan with any commitments that would secure the long‑term future of the facility and its staff.

Behind the Request: Why Jainaga Wants a 12‑Month ERTE for the Acquired Unit

The Stakes for Sidenor and Ohmnia

A request to suspend the entire workforce for a full year is rarely a mere cost‑cutting exercise; it signals a deep, likely prolonged, mismatch between the business’s order book and its fixed cost base. Although Arteixo Telecom was profitable in 2023, the ERTE suggests that demand from its core sectors – particularly healthcare, rail and defense – has weakened materially or that the integration into Ohmnia has failed to deliver the expected pipeline of work. Jainaga’s attention is also divided: his parallel offer for Azkoyen may raise questions about whether Arteixo Telecom is receiving the management focus it needs.

Union’s Case: Disproportion and Missing Guarantees

UGT’s rejection rests on two arguments. First, a blanket twelve‑month suspension for more than 100 workers is severe by any standard, and second, the company has not paired the request with a credible recovery plan. Without visible measures to win new contracts or invest in the site, employees fear the ERTE is a prelude to permanent layoffs or even closure. That anxiety is heightened by the fact that the plant’s clients include defence and critical infrastructure operators, where supply continuity is both a commercial and a reputational matter.

Possible Fallout Across Supply Chains

Arteixo Telecom’s position as a supplier of electronic subsystems for rail, healthcare and defence means that a prolonged production halt could ripple outward. Defence and health procurement cycles are typically long, but customers expect reliability; extended downtime may push them to qualify alternative suppliers, permanently eroding Arteixo’s market share. For Sidenor, any loss of institutional trust in a strategic industrial niche could weigh on its broader industrial ambitions.

What Comes Next for Arteixo Telecom and Its Workers

• For Sidenor/Ohmnia management: Provide the works council with a specific, time‑bound roadmap for order intake and operational breakeven. Without it, the ERTE risks turning into a permanent closure – and burning relationships with defence and healthcare clients that are hard to rebuild.
• For workers and unions: Demand full transparency on the current order book and on any planned customer diversification. If the data shows temporary softness, negotiate a shorter, rotating ERTE that retains critical skills; if the outlook is structurally weak, pivot the conversation toward a viable restructuring plan rather than a flat rejection that could accelerate a shutdown.
• For customers in healthcare, rail and defense: Assess continuity risk immediately. Identify whether any sole‑sourced components rely on Arteixo Telecom and consider dual sourcing or bridging stocks to protect program timelines.