US banana giant Chiquita Brands will resume operations in Panama and rehire thousands of workers fired after a crippling strike, the government of the Central American country said Friday.

Chiquita closed its Changuinola plant in the Caribbean province of Bocas del Toro at the end of May and laid off 6,000 workers after a strike over pension reforms that crippled production for weeks.

The strike, declared illegal by a labor court, caused more than $75 million in losses as well as road closures and product shortages in the province.

The Panamanian government has been negotiating with the company for its return to Bocas del Toro, which relies heavily on tourism and banana production.

On Friday, President Jose Raul Mulino announced “a positive agreement for Bocas del Toro and the thousand

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