The Kilusang Mayo Uno-Southern Mindanao Region (KMU-SMR) condemned Franklin Baker Inc, a coconut manufacturing company based in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur, for terminating thousands of workers.

According to KMU, the company abruptly and arbitrarily terminated 3,200 workers on October 3. The company notified the workers of their termination through a message on a Facebook group. To date, the workers are still unclear about their status.

“The Philippine Labor Code stipulates that the employer (in this case, Franklin Baker) should immediately inform the workers of any suspension or termination and provide an explanation,” the KMU-SMR said on October 29. The organization emphasized that the Department of Labor and Employment should immediately address the issue and extend the necessary support and legal assistance to the affected workers.

Despite years of working for the company, nearly all of Franklin Baker Inc.’s workers are contractuals. Aside from its factory in Davao del Sur, the company also has a factory in San Pablo, Laguna. Both factories produce 30 million kilograms of desiccated coconut and 4 million liters of coconut water concentrate every year.

Franklin Baker Inc. is a subsidiary of the American company Franklin Baker Company. It supplies coconut products to large food monopolies such as Kraft Foods, Kellogg’s, Nestle, and others.