Drastic job cuts in Chile
Salmones Camanchaca has revealed it needs to slash its workforce by 42% due to the impact of the Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) that affected the Reloncaví Sound and its surroundings earlier this year.
In addition to productive and economic consequences, those HABs that impacted the Chilean salmon industry have also begun to cause job losses and Camanchaca expects its workforce to be reduced from 1,534 workers in 2015 (including farming and processing) down to 883 workers in Q3 this year.
Operational adjustments
Along with mortality rates approaching 93 per cent in three farms due to HABs and an estimated direct economic impact after insurance of about US$ 5-7 million, the company has reported operating adjustments due to a lower level of activity.
As part of this down-scaling process the company expects to reduce its number of freshwater sites in operation from 5 last year to 3 units in 2016; their seawater sites, from 19 to 16; and the number of harvested sites, from 11 to 7.
Meanwhile, their harvest volumes are expected to drop from about 43,000 tonnes in 2015 to 30,000 tonnes this year.
