While Milei’s Proposed Job Cuts Target Just a Fraction of Argentina’s Public Sector, Labor Unions Expected to Push Back.
Argentine President Javier Milei has unveiled plans to dismiss 70,000 government employees in the upcoming months, signaling a bold move in his libertarian approach aimed at significantly reducing the size of the bloated state apparatus.
In addition to the extensive job cuts, President Javier Milei proudly declared at an event on Tuesday that he has implemented a freeze on public works, reduced funding to provincial governments, and terminated over 200,000 social welfare plans, which he denounced as corrupt. These measures are integral to his overarching strategy aimed at achieving fiscal equilibrium at all costs within the current year.
“In an hour-long speech at the IEFA Latam Forum in Buenos Aires, President Milei expressed, ‘There’s a lot of blender,’ alluding to the detrimental impact of 276% annual inflation on wages and pensions. He further emphasized, ‘There’s a lot more chainsaw,’ implying a need for even more aggressive measures.”
Despite constituting only a small portion of Argentina’s 3.5 million public sector workforce, Milei’s proposed job cuts are anticipated to encounter significant resistance from the nation’s influential labor unions, potentially endangering his currently high approval ratings. On Tuesday, one union representing government employees initiated a strike, while a government report revealed that private sector workers experienced the most severe one-month wage decline in over three decades following Milei’s assumption of office in December.
The leader of the state workers union ATE quickly shot back on X, announcing a national strike without providing further details.
