Collective dismissal in retail: agreement reached in 45 days with zero post-ERE litigation

The Challenge

A retail distribution chain operating 180 stores across Spain was facing a structural profitability crisis accelerated by shifts in consumer behavior and sustained increases in shopping center rental costs. Management made the strategic decision to close 35 underperforming locations, triggering the dismissal of 420 employees and the formal obligation to initiate a collective dismissal procedure (Expediente de Regulación de Empleo, ERE) under Spanish labor law.

The context was particularly sensitive. The company had three active trade union sections — CCOO, UGT, and an independent sector-specific union — with historically adversarial positions toward management. Several of the affected stores were located in municipalities where the company was one of the main local employers. Any breakdown in negotiation risked triggering strikes, negative media coverage, and a wave of individual and collective lawsuits that could jeopardize the entire restructuring plan. The statutory maximum consultation period was 90 days, but the business plan required stores to be closed and costs eliminated within the fiscal year.

Our Approach

BMC assumed legal and strategic leadership of the process from the ERE design phase. The first step was a comprehensive workforce analysis: seniority profiles, job categories, employees with special legal protections (pregnancies, disabilities, union representatives), and financial modeling of different severance scenarios and their impact on total process cost.

The negotiating strategy was built around three pillars. First, economic transparency: we presented trade union representatives with disaggregated profit and loss accounts by store covering three historical years, constructing a narrative of objective business necessity that removed the political dimension from the discussion. Second, segmented negotiation: we separated economic terms (severance amount, payment schedule) from accompanying social measures (outplacement, retraining, future re-employment priority), negotiating each block with its appropriate pace and stakeholders. Third, proactive mediation: we proactively requested intervention from the SMAC (Servicio de Mediación, Arbitraje y Conciliación) in week four, before positions had hardened, using mediation as an unblocking tool rather than a last resort.

We also designed the outplacement program, covering job orientation workshops, access to a sector employment exchange, and individual placement support for long-tenured employees with limited external mobility.

Results

Agreement with all three trade unions was signed on day 45 of the consultation period — exactly half the 90-day statutory maximum. The agreed average severance was 28 days per year of service, compared to the 33 days demanded at the opening of negotiations, representing an approximate saving of 1.5 million euros against the initial scenario.

The outplacement program achieved a 67% reemployment rate within six months of store closures. Not one of the 420 affected employees filed an individual or collective lawsuit against the company. The restructuring was executed on schedule, and the company returned to profitability in the following fiscal year.