The economist Juan Carlos De Pabloone of the most influential columnists of The Nation and advisor with good arrival in the presidential circle, yesterday ignited the public debate by issuing a clear and blunt diagnosis about the massive layoffs that occurred in the tire company Fate. In his column titled “Unsolicited advice to the 920 fired by Fate”, the economist evaluated the situation of the workers affected by the closure of the plant in Virreyes and proposes a roadmap that has already generated controversy on social networks and in the political sphere.
“The advice I formulated is direct: collect the compensation, manage your expenses and go out and look for work,” De Pablo stated in the column, emphasizing that the compensation could allow an employee with 20 years of service to sustain himself for “a couple and a half years” if he adjusts his level of consumption. The economist added that insisting on pushing for the reopening of the factory “does not change reality” and that persisting in that attempt would be similar to dreaming of “winning the jackpot in the lottery.”
The economic analyst, author of numerous books and a regular figure in national media, did not limit his analysis to practical advice: he also reflected on how an economic crisis can become, for some, an opportunity to reinvent themselves. “I would not be surprised if for some the closure of their source of work ends up generating better ventures,” he wrote in the text published in The Nation.
On this topic, on social networks, the president Javier Milei He referred to some actors involved in the Fate crisis. The president, far from adopting a conciliatory tone, targeted certain sectors of the business community, in particular Javier Madanes Quintanilla (FATE) , Paolo Rocca (Techint) and Roberto Mendez (Neumen); holding them responsible for the situation that the national industry is going through. In a message published on the social network
The situation of Fate, founded in 1940 and a symbol of the Argentine pneumatic industry, deteriorated rapidly when the company announced the closure of its main plant, with a production capacity that exceeded five million tires per year, and the dismissal of 920 employees. The union SUTNA occupied the property after the announcement and the Ministry of Labor issued a mandatory 15-day conciliation, although efforts to reopen the plant remain stalled due to the persistent union occupation and the lack of agreement between the parties.
The company attributed the decision to close the plant to drastic changes in market conditions, pressure from imports and the impossibility of sustaining profitable operations in a context of profound economic transformations. For their part, union and opposition sectors attribute the crisis to the trade opening policies promoted by the Government and the labor reform under discussion in Congress, which according to them weakens formal employment conditions.
The contrast between De Pablo’s pragmatic recommendation—focused on the individual economic survival of those laid off—and Milei’s combative tone—which turns the episode into part of a cultural battle against the “corrupt”—has generated a broader discussion about how productive reconversion and the role of the State in situations of local industrial bankruptcy should be addressed. Meanwhile, Fate workers and their families face uncertainty, and the country is watching closely as this conflict that combines economics, politics and social tensions unfolds.
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