Chiquita plans Panama return after mass layoffs and strike

Sat, Aug 30, 2025, 2:42 AM 1 min read

Chiquita plans to restart banana production in Panama months after shutting operations and laying off 6,500 striking workers, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said on Friday.

Mulino announced that an agreement was reached after meeting Chiquita chairman Carlos Lopez Flores during an official visit to Brazil's capital. He said the deal would help restore jobs, trade, and stability in the sector.

Under the memorandum signed in Brasília, the company will rehire about 3,000 workers initially, with another 2,000 to follow later, the government said. Chiquita aims to resume operations in Panama by February 2026.

"I will always stand on the side of investment, production and decent work for our people," Mulino said in a video message on social media. "What happened, happened. Now is the time to look forward and reorganize the country for the benefit of Panamanian families."

The US fruit giant halted production in Panama's Bocas del Toro province in April after nearly two months of strikes by banana workers and other unions protesting a pension reform. Chiquita dismissed its entire workforce and shifted its local headquarters to neighbouring Costa Rica.

The unrest prompted the government to impose a regional state of emergency in June, which eventually brought the strike to an end. Bananas remain Panama's most important export.