Banana producer Chiquita on Thursday announced it would lay off thousands of workers in Panama, following what it called “unjustified abandonment of work” on its farms and operations centres since the end of April.
In a statement published on X by Radio Panamá, Chiquita said that the walkout, which began on April 28, had caused losses of at least $75 million and irreversible damage to banana production.
According to local media, around 4,900 non-permanent workers out of Chiquita’s roughly 7,000 employees in Panama are affected.
The strike is part of a broader protest movement across the country against proposed reforms to the social security system. Workers from other sectors, including teachers, Indigenous groups and construction workers, have also joined demonstrations.
Chiquita said it had repeatedly urged staff to return to work before making the decision to terminate contracts.
