Chapter Eleven-style bankruptcy proceedings, referred to as Procedimientos Preventivos de Crisis in Argentina, are accelerating. In the first seven months of this year, authorities received as many requests as they did in all of 2025, based on a request for access to public information submitted by Perfil to the Human Capital Ministry. The mechanism employed during periods of corporate “emergency” seeks to prevent widespread layoffs or the complete shutdown of a firm. The data indicate a notable acceleration: as of July 31, the Human Capital Ministry had opened 163 files, nearly equalling the 164 recorded for the entirety of last year, and significantly surpassing the 131 procedures documented in 2024, as per the official response. PPCs, administered by the Labour Department, provide companies facing imminent bankruptcy with the flexibility to navigate their financial challenges. This allows them to implement mass suspensions or mitigate the costs associated with layoffs by permitting reduced severance payments. According to the report sent by the government to Perfil, 24 of the cases ended in agreement, 42 remain in progress, and 19 were closed or placed on temporary hold. “It seems appropriate to mention the dynamism of the PPC administrative files, given their nature, i.e. with the passage of time aspects such as the status [of the company], the number of workers and the measures proposed, among others, may be modified,” explained the Human Capital Ministry. In the span of 30 months under President Javier Milei’s administration, the total number of PPCs reached 458. In 2024, economic activity contracted by 1.7 percent; however, in the subsequent year, GDP experienced a robust growth of 4.4 percent.
Despite the rebound, this year and the previous one have witnessed receivers being called in more frequently than in 2017 – one of the two peak years during the Mauricio Macri administration, which recorded a total of 158 – and are poised to align with 2018, when the number reached 183. Both years experienced a contraction in GDP, with declines of 2.5 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. The all-time peak occurred in 2020, during the Alberto Fernández administration, reaching 498 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. In mid-2026, Argentina’s EMAE index, run by the INDEC national statistics bureau, exhibited interannual growth of 2.7 percent, primarily propelled by sectors including mining, fisheries, agriculture, and energy. Sectors such as industry, commerce, and construction-characterized by their labour intensity and significant contributions to GDP-are experiencing a marked slowdown, with monthly and year-on-year declines reaching as high as five percent. The correlation is evident: sectors most closely linked to the productive economy are increasingly utilising PPC crisis tools merely to remain viable, with the expectation of a future recovery. Federico Filippini indicates that the current year will conclude with growth falling short of the anticipated three percent, with a positive outlook attributed to the statistical lag from 2025, estimated at around two percent. The Universidad de San Andrés has indicated that the downturn in the second quarter of this year has negated the recovery observed in the first quarter, registering a decrease of 0.89 percent.
The Analytica consultancy estimated that July was the worst month, with a projected dip of 1.1 percent. For construction, MAP consultants revised their forecast to 2.4 percent, whereas the Central Bank’s REM market expectations survey indicated growth at 2.1 percent. Since the change of government in late 2023, the domestic economy has experienced a reduction of 30,633 companies, which accounts for a decline of six percent in the total matrix of formal employers, as reported by the monthly updated survey conducted by Fundar. This marks the most significant decline recorded in the productive sector during the initial 30 months of any administration. As of the most recent data from last May, a total of 2,371 companies had ceased operations, marking 16 consecutive months of decline and a decrease of 27 on an annual basis. The companies that remain operational are currently navigating through red and amber alerts. The payment chain serves as the primary conduit of tension: at least 47 percent of industrial companies have encountered difficulties in fulfilling certain financial obligations, while 9.2 percent have completely failed to meet all of them, as reported by the Unión Industrial Argentina industry group.
Company arrears in the financial system have escalated fivefold in less than two years, rising from 0.7 percent in November 2024 to 3.7 percent last July, as reported by the Equilibra consultancy firm, although this figure remains significantly below its historical highs. In absolute terms, the number of firms in default has surged from 16,212 to nearly 37,500, impacting 13.4 percent of all indebted companies. The impact is most pronounced on the nation’s PyMEs, or small and medium-sized enterprises. For loans under five million pesos – a bracket covering 60 percent of PyMEs – the irregularity rate rises to 9.3 percent. Analysing the data by sector reveals that construction, at 7.7 percent, and retail trade, at 6.5 percent, lead the way in credit arrears, both of which have also seen significant declines in output. Between the third quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of this year, total arrears on payment plans have experienced a twofold increase. Among manufacturers, one segment illustrates the gravity of opening up the economy to imports: the sector of textiles and leather accumulates arrears of 14.6 percent. Among the latest examples highlighted by the Fundar think tank, the textile company Will Der has closed its Las Flores plant in Buenos Aires Province and has barred the entry of 120 workers at its Pacheco site, directly indicating the challenges posed by the sectorial crisis alongside more flexible Customs duties. Multinational Unilever is proceeding with the closure of its dehydrated-vegetable plant in Mendoza, resulting in the layoff of 60 workers, attributing this decision to shifting consumer habits.
Meanwhile, the historic Mar del Plata supermarket chain Toledo disbursed only 40 percent of July salaries, amidst a backdrop of ongoing labour disputes over the past year. La Granja Tres Arroyos has terminated the employment of 250 workers at its poultry facility, attributing this decision to declining domestic prices and the cessation of export markets due to sanitary issues. The sweet-biscuit manufacturer Tía Maruca has permanently closed its plant in San Juan Province, citing an inability to sustain more than 52 percent of its installed capacity due to a significant decline in consumer demand. In the northern region, the garment firm Catamarca has effectively sealed its fate, with operations set to conclude by the end of this month. The textile company, which previously employed 150 individuals, had already diminished its workforce in response to unsold inventory it was unable to sell. It will conclude operations with only 20 employees left. Household appliance firm Peabody has declared the cessation of local production following 16 consecutive years of operations in the country. It has already dismantled its machinery to transfer production to Paraguay, opting instead for a pure-import model, after calling in receivers over liabilities of 40 billion pesos (approximately US$26.5 million at the official exchange rate).
