Panama’s Minister of Labor, Jackeline Muñoz, said this week that Chiquita Panama’s administrative team has left the country and that the company plans to request authorization to lay off its remaining workforce - around 1,600 employees - following the transfer of operations abroad.

“We spoke with representatives from the labor side of the company, who informed us that the administrative staff is no longer in Panama and that the 60 administrative employees have already been dismissed,” Muñoz said.

She also confirmed that the company has received a preliminary ruling declaring the ongoing strike illegal on appeal.

On May 26, Chiquita Panama announced that its banana planting, packing, and export operations - as well as administrative functions in the province of Bocas del Toro—would remain suspended until further notice. At the same time, the company announced the dismissal of approximately 5,000 day laborers, citing what it described as “unjustified abandonment of work on our farms and in our operation centers since April 28, which continues to this day.”

The strike at Chiquita Panama began more than a month ago in the context of broader protests over proposed social security reforms and other grievances.

In an interview with Panama’s TVN, local banana producer Juan González said the financial toll has been severe. “It’s been six weeks since we’ve been able to export a single container. I have contracts, and I’ve lost nearly $50,000,” he said.

“In the border area alone, there are more than 1,000 hectares of banana crops. There are over 800 producers, and we’re all stuck - we can’t move anything,” González added.

Before the strike, Chiquita Panama employed more than 7,000 workers across its operations.

“We had hoped this situation wouldn’t come to pass,” said Minister of the Presidency Juan Carlos Orillac.

Chiquita Panama has repeatedly urged workers to return to their posts to reduce the impact of the work stoppage on the company’s perishable crops and to avoid mounting losses in both production and banana exports.

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