Job Cuts
The Spanish arm of Japanese carmaker Nissan has reached an agreement with unions to cut 600 jobs at its plant in Barcelona, or almost 20 percent of the workforce.
The layoffs, a mixture of voluntary redundancies and early retirements over the next year, were a condition for a planned investment of 70 million euros in a new painting facility.
Nissan, which has five plants and employs around 5,000 people in Spain, reached the agreement after more than a month of negotiations with unions.
As part of the deal, any further changes to the workforce are to be negotiated separately.
Drugs
GUARDIA CIVIL officers have arrested two British suspects in connection with the alleged smuggling of hashish in shipments of oranges.
Police sources said the two British suspects lived in Mijas and San Pedro de Alcantara. A total of five were arrested as part of the investigation undertaken alongside French and British police.
Guardia Civil sources claimed hashish was smuggled from Morocco to the Costa del Sol. It was then taken inland to Extremadura, vacuum sealed and stored in a warehouse.
The packaged drugs were then hidden among shipments of oranges bound for Britain. Police claimed the gang was preparing to send a shipment of 1,500 kilograms of hashish to London.
Guardia Civil officers seized some 1,335 kilograms of hashish from one lorry said to be linked to the gang near Salamanca.
Police raided three homes as part of the investigation. One of the suspects was arrested in Malaga Airport. The case continues.
Dog in Court
A judge has called a female Pit Bull Terrier to the stand as a witness in an animal abuse trial against its former owner who is accused of locking the dog in a suitcase and throwing it in the rubbish.
According to local media the Judge in Tenerife stunned everyone in the Court when she called the dog.
The Prosecutor told the court ‘obviously, the witness cannot talk’ before a forensic doctor explained the injuries it had suffered.
A court spokesperson explained that the decision to call the Pit Bull to the stand is not common in Spain, but was agreed by all parties beforehand as a ‘gesture of goodwill’ and to make society aware of the problems of animal abuse.
The defendant faces up to a year in prison if found guilty.
Football
Record numbers of police will be deployed in Madrid for the all-English Champions League final between Liverpool and Tottenham on June 1.
The capital is bracing itself for an English invasion which is likely to see over 50,000 supporters from the two clubs descend on the city.
The game will be played at Atletico’s ground the Wanda Metropolitano, where 800 officers were on duty for the last big European game.
That number will be topped for the final, which will be only the second all-English decider in the competition’s history after Manchester United’s win over Chelsea in 2008.