MasterD (Davante) layoffs and AI

El Periódico de Aragón (4 November 2026), after the company handed the workers' representatives its written reasons when talks opened that day: "Según fuentes de CCOO, que lidera el comité de empresa, la documentación recibida apunta a la implantación de sistemas de automatización e inteligencia artificial como uno de los motivos que explican la reorganización y la amortización de puestos de trabajo" (according to sources at CCOO, which leads the works committee, the documents received point to the introduction of automation and artificial intelligence systems as one of the reasons for the reorganisation and the elimination of jobs). The company's own statement (19 October 2026, quoted by HOY Aragón) frames the procedure as a review of its operating models "para adaptarse a las nuevas necesidades de alumnos y potenciales alumnos" (to adapt to the new needs of students and prospective students) and does not mention AI; company sources told elDiario.es that it responds "exclusivamente a razones técnicas y organizativas vinculadas a la evolución del modelo operativo de MasterD" (exclusively to technical and organisational reasons linked to the evolution of MasterD's operating model).

MasterD, a Zaragoza-based vocational training and exam-preparation company in the Davante group, owned by the US fund KKR, opened a collective dismissal procedure in October 2026 for up to 231 of its roughly 1,200 employees in Spain, 99 of them in Zaragoza and 132 in its other branches. The company says it is reviewing its operating models because students want more speed, availability and responsiveness, and gives technical and organisational reasons, without mentioning AI in any public statement. The majority union CCOO says the written reasons the company handed over when talks opened on 4 November point to automation and artificial intelligence systems as one of the motives; those documents are not public and the company has not confirmed it, so the link to AI rests on the union's account. The 231 is the company's maximum and the final number depends on the talks, which can last up to 30 days, so nothing is counted.

Roles the sources name:

Sales, teaching and structural (central) staff across most of its Spanish branches, per El Periódico de Aragón (the company has not said which roles)

Share of the workforce:

up to about 19% (231 of its roughly 1,200 employees in Spain, per HOY Aragón)