Panama welcomes back Chiquita, as company operations resume with 3,000 new jobs planned
After a prolonged strike that resulted in the halt of its operations in Bocas del Toro, Chiquita Panama started resuming operations in the region, hiring over 1,600 workers.
According to Jackeline Muñoz, Panama’s Minister of Labor and Labor Development, the company plans to hire a total of 3,000 workers in this initial phase, mainly dedicated to the cleaning and maintenance of the abandoned banana plants.
"To date, 1,655 contracts have been registered, of which 600 are already permanent," she said.
The secretary stressed that this rehiring stage is fundamental for the preparation of the productive restart.
The company temporarily closed its operations in April 2025 after a long strike in rejection of a social security system reform impacting workers’ pension benefits. The stoppage lasted for more than two months and affected thousands of hectares of banana production in the region.
A gradual reactivation for Chiquita
Chiquita has detailed that the reactivation process will include two phases.
The first stage will handle cleaning and maintenance and will involve the hiring of 3,000 people. Later, a second stage will focus on maintenance, logistics, and production, generating 2,000 additional jobs.
According to official projections, banana exports are expected to resume between December of this year and January 2026.
The industry estimates that the company will invest approximately $30 million in the reactivation of 5,000 hectares of banana lands under a new operating model.
During the first quarter of the year, bananas remained Panama's main export product, representing 17.5 percent of foreign sales. Exports reached$324.4 million, the highest value in the last fifteen years.
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