Matamoros workers take maquila fight to Mexico’s federal labor courts as bankruptcy battle unfolds in the U.S.

The Tridonex shutdown has evolved into a legal battle spanning two countries.

Workers in Matamoros are preparing a federal strike filing in Mexico, even as First Brands Group — the U.S.-based parent company — navigates bankruptcy proceedings in U.S. federal court. 

Read more: Feds: Brothers ran an alleged multibillion-dollar scheme. Now 1,000 Matamoros workers are paying the price.

The parallel cases could determine the fate of machinery, inventory and other assets tied to the plant, and affect more than 1,300 families on both sides of the border.

“There are 1,300 families in uncertainty,” labor attorney Susana Prieto Terrazas said last week to about 300 workers assembled outside Plant 2 in Matamorros.

Prieto represents approximately 1,011 unionized workers who lost their jobs after Cardone, whose parent company is First Brands Group, halted operations on Jan. 26, leaving families in limbo as the company’s financial collapse unfolded.

Read more: Inside the labor crisis at a Matamoros maquila: What workers were told, what they’re doing, and what comes next

Now, workers are moving toward formal legal action.

Prieto said the next step is filing for a federal strike under Mexico’s labor system — a legal move that formally starts the dispute and requires federal labor authorities to decide whether the company is responsible.

If a Mexican labor court later rules the strike is imputable to the company — meaning the employer is legally responsible for the conflict — workers could pursue back wages, severance payments and potentially seek seizure of machinery, inventory and other company assets.

“The strike action is transcendental,” Prieto told workers.

The strike date was initially targeted for Feb. 19, but it now has to be adjusted after a labor judge in Tamaulipas declined jurisdiction and transferred the case to federal labor authorities in Mexico City.

While that legal process advances in Mexico, First Brands’ bankruptcy case is unfolding in U.S. federal court. 

Prieto said her legal team has appeared in those proceedings and is monitoring developments, including the potential auction of company divisions such as Cardone.

“The fraud carried out by First Brands executives totaled $2.3 billion,” she said, referencing allegations tied to former executives.

The scale of that alleged misconduct is central to the bankruptcy proceedings now playing out in U.S. court and could shape how assets tied to the Matamoros plant are handled.

Prieto added that at least three investors — by her estimate — have shown interest in company assets, though any transaction would need to account for labor liabilities.

For workers, the legal strategy offers movement — but not immediate relief. It also doesn’t erase what’s already happening inside their homes.

“Beyond the economic crisis, there is also a psychological and emotional crisis,” Prieto said.

Ricardo Yáñez, a father employed at the plant, said he had just used his annual bonus — about $389 — to pay his child’s school enrollment when he learned of the company’s crisis.

“That same day, I paid my child’s school… I was left with nothing,” he said.

Company representatives have indicated there will be no direct negotiations with workers, Yáñez said.

“They told us the next step was the lawsuit,” he said. 

While frustration exists, the mood among workers is defined more by concern than confrontation.

“Many are sad… worried about the economic situation,” Yañez said.

Antonio Rodríguez, an operator with five years at the plant, described the shutdown as both economic and emotional.

“It was supposed to be a secure job, and it turned out not to be,” he said.

Some workers are already considering seeking employment at other maquiladoras or turning to skilled trades, he said. Roughly 100 employees are believed to be in the pension process.

Rodríguez also described fears that association with the labor dispute could make reemployment more difficult, describing what he said is a perception among some in the workforce that their link to the labor conflict could discourage other maquiladoras from hiring them.

“There is discrimination… when they mention they worked at Tridonex, they feel their chances of being hired decrease,” he said.

Prieto urged workers to maintain a presence at the facilities to prevent removal of assets while legal proceedings advance, warning that machinery, inventory and other property could otherwise be transferred or liquidated as bankruptcy proceedings advance in the U.S.

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