In a statement addressed to the workforce, the union asserts that the company's situation is not due to a structural crisis, but rather a combination of financial problems, accounting adjustments, and business decisions accumulated over years. In their view, economic data "dismantle the narrative of a structural crisis" and reveal "institutional complicity" with a management model they describe as "parasitic".
According to the audited accounts for 2025, Tubos Reunidos recorded net losses of 118.1 million euros and an operating profit (Ebitda) of -22.8 million. However, ESK emphasizes that a significant portion of these losses corresponds to accounting impairments—valued at 40.8 million—and financial charges, close to 28 million. In this regard, the union argues that the company's main problem lies in its debt and management, not in its productive activity or workforce.
The union also recalls that in 2020, approximately 100 million euros in impairments were already accounted for, which, in their opinion, demonstrates that accounting losses do not necessarily reflect the company's real industrial situation. Furthermore, they point out that the Corporate Governance Report includes the payment of 2.9 million euros to senior management in 2023, including multi-year variable remuneration.
No one is expendable. The problem is not the workforce, but the management model and the financial structure.
For ESK, these remunerations are "hardly compatible" with the conditions of the public rescue received through FASEE, which limits such payments until a significant portion of the aid has been repaid.
The union denounces that, meanwhile, the workforce has endured "years of sacrifices" through temporary employment regulation files (ERTE), salary freezes, and loss of labor rights. In this context, it rejects the new ERE, which, it warns, contemplates hundreds of layoffs, the closure of the steel mill, and the outsourcing of logistics.
Regarding the role of institutions, ESK criticizes the Basque Government for focusing its discourse on "minimizing the impact" and facilitating debt restructuring and investor entry, which, in their opinion, implies de facto acceptance of the company's management proposals. The union maintains that the debt has not been generated by the workforce, but by management decisions and shareholders, among whom it cites BBVA, the Ybarra family, and other large investors, to whom it attributes sufficient capacity to recapitalize the company.
Finally, ESK demands the withdrawal of the ERE, the defense of employment and industrial activity, greater institutional involvement in favor of the workforce, and that shareholders assume their responsibility.
