Alberto Sánchez, owner of the IT services SME Soft, shared his difficult situation on the program Herrera en COPE Gran Canaria. Sánchez explained that the unsustainable burden of business expenses and tax pressure have forced him to reduce his staff from six to three employees.
The entrepreneur expressed his frustration with the continuous expenses faced by companies, pointing to poor administrative management and a high public debt as factors that impact business owners. "Unfortunately, everyone points to us, the business owners, as having to pay," he stated.
He confirmed dismissing three employees, partly attributing the cause to the elimination of contract types like "project-based contracts." "When that project ends, what do you do with those workers? You have no choice but to let them go," he lamented.
“"I am not complaining about the worker, the worker earns very little"
Despite acknowledging that salaries are low, Sánchez highlighted the disproportionate cost to the company. "The reality is that, for example, a worker who earns 17,000 euros a year, taking home 17,000 euros to put it mildly, costs the company double," he stated.
He detailed that this extra cost is due to "contribution costs, indirect costs, administrative expenses," and inefficient administrative management. He criticized the withholding system and retroactive payroll changes, which affect both the company and the employee.
To compensate for the lack of staff, Sánchez confessed to working shifts of up to 16 or 20 hours, including weekends. "For what? To keep it going," he said, nostalgically recalling times when "it was possible to start a business" in the country.
He also addressed the specific challenges in the Canary Islands, where business returns do not allow for salary parity with Madrid or Barcelona. He noted that many Canarian SMEs, often family-run, depend on large companies that pay "poorly, late, and never," and criticized the public administration's delay in paying invoices, which can exceed 70 days.
The interview takes place in a context where the labor cost in the Canary Islands reached 2,715 euros per worker in the first quarter of 2026, a 4.5% year-on-year increase.
