Earlier this month, the 15th quarterly meeting was held to follow up and monitor the work to correct environmental anomalies at the Amorim Cork Solutions (ACS) plant in Vale de Lama, Silves.
However, at this meeting, attended by Permanent Councillor Maxime Sousa Bispo, representatives of CCDR-Algarve, the Pestana group and “the neighbours of the factory” residents committee, Amorim Cork Solutions (ACS) announced they will close the Corticeira Amorim factory in Silves, on June 9th, transferring the Silves industrial unit to the Venda Novas industrial unit, in Évora.
See article here: https://algarvedailynews.com/news/25401-silves-the-amorim-cork-factory-is-set-to-transfer-expanded-cork-production-to-evora
ACS representatives cited market problems, the cost of raw materials and inflation, and the international tax environment as reasons for this decision to close. In fact, the continuing decline in demand for cork insulation agglomerates, as they are more expensive than other alternative products on the market, with no signs of this trend reversing in the coming years, combined with the rising costs of the raw material, which comes from the cork oak forests of the Alto Alentejo, and allied to international instability with regard to the taxation of exports of national products, meant that the decision to close down was based solely and exclusively on economic and market rationality prevailed.
Faced with this reality, the municipality's concern turned to the future of the 32 cork factory workers and the safeguarding of their labour rights.
Corticeira Amorim's representatives have made a commitment to accept the transfer of workers to the Vendas Novas plant, if any worker so wishes, and, in cases of termination of employment, they will award monetary compensation double the amount of that provided for by law.
It was also guaranteed that the function houses will continue to be made available to the workers and their families who live there, until other and better solutions are found that satisfy all the interested parties.
Since the end of 2021, the municipality has made significant efforts to prevent this closure, with the aim of making the continued operation of the factory in compliance with legal noise requirements and the adoption of air pollution mitigation measures. All this hard work has meant that the Silves plant has received the most attention and investment from the Amorim Group over the last four years, in terms of improving the working conditions of its employees, complying with the legal requirements applicable to the plant's operation and adopting environmental recommendations, creating a positve context which, unfortunately, was unable to withstand the sharp drop in new orders, with a consequent reduction in the plant's turnover levels.
The Municipality of Silves sent out a message of confidence and hope for the future, considering it extremely important to emphasise that the strong link between the city of Silves and the cork processing industry is far from over. At the same me, Councillor Maxime Sousa Bispo addressed a word of appreciation to all those who took part in the follow-up and monitoring meetings, especially the representatives of Corticeira Amorim, the Pestana Group and the residents’ committee “os Vizinhos da Fábrica”, underlining the sense of responsibility and high level of commitment of everyone in the search for constructive solutions, so that the factory could continue to operate without causing environmental nuisance to those living in the vicinity.
Comment from ‘Neighbours of the Factory’
With an outcome that was never desired by the Residents' Committee “Neighbours of the Factory”, we can only thank the Silves Municipality for its involvement and support in mediating this entire participatory, democratic and transparent process, over at least 15 follow-up and monitoring meetings held over the last four years, which aimed to ensure that the Amorim Cork Solutions (ACS) factory in Vale de Lama, Silves, would continue to operate, while complying with legal noise limits and adopting measures to mitigate atmospheric pollution.
We are very sad about this decision as it affects the jobs of 32 people: loss of job or relocation.
The quarterly meetings were an instrument to bring all parties together and discuss solutions to create a liveable and workable environment for the factory and the neighbours.
The decision of closure was made outside of the quarterly meetings, by Amorim Cork Solutions, purely based on the declining financial results during the last 5 years, with a 16% loss in 2024.
All this information is available to read on the Amorim website: https://www.amorim.com/en/investors/financial-information/other-financial-reports/
The re-organisation of Amorim Cork Insulation, Amorim Cork Flooring and Amorim Cork Composites into Amorim Cork Solutions per 1 January 2025 was aimed at improving the overall results in a changing market environment.
This situation has led to the loss of around 100 jobs in 2024 at Amorim Cork Flooring and 32 jobs in Silves this year.
We only can wish the 32 workers all the best for their future and thank you all for your support.
