Economic stagnation, loss of competitiveness, and tensions stemming from regulatory and tariff changes due to the renegotiation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) impacted the maquiladora industry in Baja California, resulting in the loss of 11,470 jobs, according to INEGI data as of May 2026.
The results released by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) indicate that export-oriented manufacturing companies in the state ended May with a total of 333,636 employees, down from 345,106 in the same month of 2025.
The review of the government agency’s figures documented that the maquiladora industry in the state has once again experienced job losses for the third consecutive year, comparing May to May.
Thus, the maquiladora plants operating under the IMMEX program in Baja California have accumulated a loss of 45,585 workers when comparing May 2026 to the same month in 2023, when the decline in the state’s labor market began.
The negative impacts on the maquiladora industry in the state occurred prior to the trade war with the United States, through the tax burden, adjustments to federal operating rules, and labor reforms.
Despite the INEGI data, state and federal authorities are ignoring the impacts of their decisions on the maquiladora sector. Furthermore, they are downplaying the evidence of the loss of investor confidence, as most recently exemplified by their denial of the impact of the announcement that the Tacoma (Toyota) production line would be moving from Tijuana to San Antonio, Texas.
Source: afntijuana.info
