The court overturns part of the layoffs due to the ERE carried out in 2024 by the Leitat technology center, in which the employer’s association Cecot and the public company Acció, among others, participate in the board. About sixty workers filed a lawsuit claiming that the process was carried out without properly informing during the negotiation. They are now proven right and their dismissal is declared null, according to a ruling from the Social Court No. 1 of Terrassa dated last July 6 and issued by Judge Rosa Milán Hernández, to which La Vanguardia has had access. The decision, which can be appealed, could have a million-euro impact.
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The issue dates back to 2024, when Leitat agreed on an ERE for 115 workers. This focused on employees from the Esteve R&D center called WeLab that Leitat had acquired in 2020 and decided to close after failing to achieve the expected results. The plaintiffs argued that there were procedural defects in the ERE, with a lack of information during the negotiation about Leitat’s economic situation. For example, figures from the foundation’s structures and the association itself were confused and mixed. The judge points out, for example, a contribution of 10.8 million as a “donation” from the foundation to the association. “This shows that there was a single cash box; they made it seem like they had fictitious losses” in the ERE, explains Tirso Gracia, managing partner of Galibier Legal, who along with his team has defended about half of the plaintiffs. The WeLab workers “were people with long tenure and high salaries,” which has increased the impact.
In addition to the nullity, the ruling calls for reinstatement, but Gracia notes that this would not be possible since the center no longer exists. What will happen now is a new calculation of the compensation to include the years that have passed since the ERE. The lawyer estimates a “theoretical impact” of between 17 and 18 million euros for Leitat, distributed among back pay, Social Security, and indemnity differences. The amount could double because the nullity extends to all dismissed employees (115), even if they did not file a lawsuit, so the total could exceed 30 million in a maximum case.
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Leitat largely depends on subsidies, so the cost could be absorbed with more public resources, according to Galibier Legal. The ruling can be appealed. Sources from Leitat state that “the procedure was carried out correctly, in accordance with all current legislation,” that it received approval from Treball and was approved by the staff. The entity is analyzing the ruling and what actions to take.
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