Ok Mobility cuts jobs in Mallorca – Who pays the price of the realignment?

Ok Mobility cuts jobs in Mallorca – Who pays the price of the realignment?

Around 60 jobs affected, the new season is approaching

In Palma people are talking quietly, sometimes loudly: at the counter in Son Sant Joan everyday life continues, rolling suitcases click across the floor, taxi drivers negotiate with guests – and behind the scenes a major car rental company is planning staff cuts. Ok Mobility, headquartered on the island, has initiated a redundancy procedure; according to available information about seven percent of the global workforce is affected, roughly 60 out of around 800 employees. On Mallorca about 270 employees work for the company. Recent labour disputes are also a factor, as outlined in Ryanair Ground Staff Strikes: What Mallorca Needs to Know.

Key question: How justified is the reduction, and who protects employees when companies change their operating model at short notice? This is the decisive question for many families in Palma, Cala Major or Inca who are directly affected by such decisions.

Available information indicates that Ok Mobility wants to change its focus: more emphasis on tourist destinations in southern Europe, stronger franchising in countries such as Germany, Croatia, Greece and Poland, and an accelerated digital transformation. Internal organization is also to be adjusted to stabilize returns. The company founder and CEO, Othman Ktiri, is named as the responsible executive.

Critical analysis: A staff reduction of this magnitude just weeks before the season starts seems contradictory. The high seasonality on Mallorca creates additional annual demand for staff in airport zones, at counters and for the fleet, a vulnerability highlighted by Ryanair Cuts Winter Flights — a Warning Signal for Mallorca. If central positions are cut, a vacuum arises: who will take over customer service at the airports, vehicle maintenance, or fleet management during the summer? The announcement is vague about whether the cuts will take place locally or be distributed. That creates uncertainty—for employees, suppliers and local partners.

What is missing from public discussion: concrete figures on the distribution of the measures, information on socially acceptable solutions and a plan for the transition phase. There is also a lack of perspective for those temporarily released: what severance payments apply, what re‑employment or placement offers are there? For companies that simultaneously talk about digital transformation, it must not be forgotten that digital projects take time and will not automatically compensate for jobs that are lost.

An everyday scene from Palma: early in the morning a woman sits on the Paseo Marítimo with a thermos of coffee, looks over the bay and scrolls through her phone. On her screen a message: a colleague was informed that her contract will end in a few weeks. These scenes are not abstract here; they happen in Bunyola, in Sant Jordi, at the Mercat de l'Olivar – people who commute to work for whom a sudden loss of income is existentially threatening.

Concrete approaches that should be tackled now:

1) Duty of transparency: Company management must disclose how many positions will be cut in which country and which criteria are applied. Immediate talks with works councils and local authorities are necessary.

2) Social plan and placement: On Mallorca the works council, social security institutions and employment agencies must cooperate immediately to ensure transitional benefits, retraining and quick job placement. Particularly important are courses in digital skills and fleet management.

3) Seasonal bridging: Given the upcoming season, flexible employment models could help: temporary assignments in other local companies, cooperation with workshops and logistics businesses, so that skilled workers are not unnecessarily lost.

4) Regional networking: The city of Palma, municipalities and tourism associations should hold talks with the company to develop local solutions for service and maintenance tasks—possibly with short‑term financial support until new structures take effect.

5) Make new business models socially responsible: If franchising and digitalization are introduced, rules must ensure that employees are kept on site or that they are given access to franchise partnerships.

Pointed conclusion: A strategic reorientation is a company's right. But if it plunges people into uncertainty overnight and weakens the island's economy in fragile weeks before the season, rules and responsibility are needed. This risk is compounded by carriers reducing capacity, as discussed in Ryanair threatens further cuts – How at risk is Mallorca? More details on the distribution of cuts, binding social plans and a fast retraining schedule would be the bare minimum now. City authorities and employment agencies should not merely wait until lawsuits and severance rounds pave the way—better would be a coordinated offer that protects people while allowing a company to adapt without sacrificing the local social fabric.