Argentine industry crisis — Argentina’s manufacturing sector is in deep crisis, shedding tens of thousands of jobs and shuttering factories despite President Javier Milei’s claims of economic success through austerity and deregulation. Industrialists warn that collapsing domestic consumption and a flood of imports are crippling local production, creating a stark divide between official inflation figures and on-the-ground reality.

The Kioshi shoe factory, which employed 120 people in 2023, now operates with just 14 workers. Its director, Emmanuel Fernández, says the domestic market is “dead” as people lack money to spend. Official data shows industrial production fell 5% between June and July 2026, the sharpest drop in 16 months, with the sector operating at about 40% idle capacity. The Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) reports the loss of approximately 90,000 industrial jobs since August 2023 and says about 30,000 companies have closed since Milei took office in December of that year.

In Zárate, Miguel Márquez, 62, looks at the abandoned Clariant chemical plant where he worked for 20 years until its closure in 2025. He says only two of the 42 laid-off workers found formal employment; the rest, like him, survive on informal gig work. While the government tames inflation—down from triple digits to 33.8% year-on-year in July—business leaders argue the economy cannot be measured by price stability alone.

Economy Minister Luis Caputo defends the open-market policy, stating his role is to defend the interests of “48 million Argentines, not certain businessmen.” However, with employment and wages surpassing inflation as the top public concern, the industrial collapse poses a significant political threat to Milei ahead of the 2027 election.