The year was characterised by significant adjustment, structural and strategic measures, taken to improve the co-operatives’ competitiveness, tackle the complicated economic situation and, in turn, emerge stronger from the global crisis.
There was a very special element to this crisis in terms of the people affected in that a very high proportion of the members of the MONDRAGON cooperatives had joined over the last 10-12 years, and had never before lived through a crisis and, therefore, were now experiencing something that was new to most of them. At the end of December, the number of people affiliated to Lagun Aro EPSV totalled 30,757, 636 people less than the previous year.
Caja Laboral, a body set up in 1959 and therefore celebrating its 50th anniversary, performed modestly, with the assets on its balance sheet accounting for €21.2bn, with an annual increase of €405m. In the Industrial Area, the slowdown in demand had a big effect on construction, capital goods and consumer durables.
