Hi Fadinfast
As probably you know the Branch staff in Spain has been decreasing year after year since 1998. In that year they sent out 13 members at once. The biggest reduction took place at the begining of 2010. Around 75 members were sacked. The majority of them got the chance to be send as a special pioneers to the cities they came from many years ago. Many of them spent two and three decades inBethel and they are in their 50's. Now, the spanish branch have around 125 workers. This is the half it just to be in the later 80's and 90's.
In the late 90's the branch was under a big plan of construction. Where they had only accommodation for 98 workers (48 rooms in six small buildings) they now built accommodation for 600 people. The facts have been a very big fiasco for the JW in Spain, specialy the Branch commitee. The vast majority of the new facilities haven't been used. They are empty. Obviously it cost a lot of money and they need to save money more than ever.
How long they will carry on like now? Who knows.
We are expecting two big decisions from the branch commitee :
1, Reduction sooner or later in the amount of the special pioneers in Spain.
2, The whole Branch in sale and they moving to an smaller site nearby.
