Mexican Union Fights in US After First Brands Bankruptcy & Factory Closures

ByJared Laureles and Jessica Xantomila

This article by Jared Laureles and Jessica Xantomila originally appeared in the January 30, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Faced with the crisis in 15 maquiladoras on Mexico’s northern border, following the bankruptcy of First Brands Group, the National Independent Union of Workers of Industries and Services Movement 20/32 seeks to influence the legal process taking place in the United States against the company for alleged financial irregularities that impact more than 5,000 workers.

Susana Prieto Terrazas, legal representative of this union holding the only active collective agreement in one of the nine subsidiaries of the US company, requested to appear at the next hearing before the Bankruptcy Court based in Houston, Texas, to explain the problems of the Mexican workers.

In yesterday’s session, First Brands argued that it needed access to a $144 million fund to ensure the continuity of its operations and the payment of salaries; otherwise, the corporation warned that it would close and 13,000 jobs would be lost in its subsidiaries, the labor lawyer indicated.

The judge postponed the decision on the loan application for two weeks to gather more information about the company’s financial situation, she added.

The U.S. Department of Justice reported yesterday that Patrick James, founder and former CEO of First Brands Group, and his brother were arrested in Ohio on charges of defrauding the company, which led to its bankruptcy in September 2025.

“At the time of its bankruptcy, First Brands – a company that reported approximately $5 billion in annual net sales worldwide – declared only $12 million in cash in its corporate bank accounts and more than $9 billion in liabilities.

As a result of the defendants’ fraudulent schemes, First Brands’ lenders and creditors now face losses in the millions,” the company stated on its official website.

Former employees of the Tridonex factory, some with up to 25 years of service, maintain a vigil outside the plant in Matamoros, Tamaulipas. Photo: Julia Le Duc

In an interview, Prieto Terrazas pointed out that at Tridonex-Cardone, in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and at Subensambles Internacionales there are workers with 30 years of seniority, who were told by the legal advisors of the US company that “there was no money to pay salaries or continue operations.”

In response, he announced that a lawsuit would be filed to “seize assets as a precautionary measure” and guarantee workers’ compensation. He also asked them to maintain a presence at any First Brands-related plant.

Separately, Serafín Garza, leader of the Autonomous Federation of Independent Unions in Mexico, indicated that there are potential buyers for the Subensambles and JPP plants. He emphasized that a strike was called at these facilities as a precautionary measure to ensure workers receive their severance pay.

Meanwhile, he considered that in the four BPI Manufacturing plants in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua –where it has proof of representation– there is no interest in acquiring them, since “they are not profitable”.