Brazil union loses bid to save 4,270 Embraer jobs

A union representing 4,270 workers laid off by Brazil's aircraft manufacturer Embraer said Wednesday a labor tribunal rejected its demand that they be reinstated.

But it added, in a statement, that the sackings would prove more costly to the company than anticipated.

The tribunal in Campinas, an industrial zone outside Sao Paulo where Embraer is based, ordered the company pay an extra two months' salary, or 7,000 reais (3,100 dollars), per employee, and provide 12 months of medical cover.

Embraer announced a month ago it was shedding immediately 20 percent of its 21,000 workers because of the "unprecedented crisis hitting the world economy."

The tribunal, which had initially frozen the lay-offs pending its examination of the matter, decided that the lay-offs did not take effect until March 13.

The Sao Jose dos Campos Metalworkers' Union said the indemnities to be paid were still too small and it would appeal to have them increased.

Embraer is the fourth-biggest aircraft maker in the world, behind Airbus, Boeing and Canada's Bombardier.