Portuguese companies reported 375 collective dismissals by July 2026, representing an increase of about 13% compared to the same period in 2025, when 293 cases were recorded. This is the highest value since 2020, the pandemic period, when 420 collective dismissals had been registered in the first seven months of that year. The Directorate-General for Employment and Labour Relations (DGERT) is the source responsible for publishing this data.
Of the 375 collective dismissals reported, the distribution by company size reveals that 105 were from micro-enterprises, 174 from small enterprises, 68 from medium enterprises, and 28 from large enterprises. By region, Lisbon and Vale do Tejo leads with 221 collective dismissals, followed by the North with 104, the Centre with 36, and Alentejo and Algarve with seven each.
However, the number of workers actually affected by these processes fell significantly. By July, 4,055 workers had been dismissed through collective dismissal processes, a reduction of 11.4% compared to the 4,578 recorded in the same period in 2025. Overall, the number of workers affected fell 9.3%, from 4,688 to 4,250.
Regarding the month of July specifically, 624 workers were effectively dismissed, a figure lower than the 781 recorded in the same month of 2025. The Lisbon and Vale do Tejo region concentrated 63% of these dismissals, with 391 workers. Manufacturing industries were the sector with the highest number of workers dismissed, with workforce reduction being the main reason cited (78%), followed by permanent closure (14%) and closure of one or more sections (8%).
