Today in Spain: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday

Parking spots in Mallorca going for €185,000

As evidence of just how far Spain’s housing crisis is worsening in places such as the Balearics, local daily El Diario de Mallorca has published an article highlighting how parking spots in the centre of Palma are now being sold for €185,000.

The average price for a parking spot in a building in Spain in 2024 was still considerably lower - €13,770 - but the Mediterranean islands are one of the places in Spain where real estate prices are going through the roof. The price per square metre in December 2024 was €4,931 per sqm.

Shorter work week to be approved by Spain's Cabinet today

The reduction of the working week from 40 to 37.5 hours without a pay cut will return to the Spanish Council of Ministers this Tuesday.

The measure lacks the support of employers, who have already withdrawn from the negotiating table, and it doesn't currently have the support of the majority in Congress, where it will be submitted this time as a bill for final approval.

Nevertheless, the regulation was agreed upon in December between the Ministry of Labour and Spanish trade unions CC.OO. and UGT, after a year of negotiations.

It was actually scheduled to be approved last Tuesday, but the national blackout forced the government to postpone the decision.

READ ALSO: Spain's shorter work week could mean 12 extra holiday days for some workers

Top Spanish court drops tax complaint against ex-king Juan Carlos

Spain's Supreme Court said on Monday it had shelved a complaint lodged by a group of retired judges and other leading figures against disgraced former king Juan Carlos for alleged tax offences.

Spanish prosecutors in March 2022 closed three probes into his finances due to insufficient evidence and the statute of limitations, but said several irregularities had been found.

Among them were lucrative gifts from Gulf Arab monarchies and private trips funded by a foundation based in the tiny European state of Liechtenstein.

But the Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit, arguing it "does not provide any new facts, evidence or documents that would justify reopening the investigation" into the former head of state's finances.

Juan Carlos, 87, made two payments worth more than €5 million to the Spanish tax authorities to settle money owed on past undeclared income, a move widely viewed as a bid to avoid charges.

Revelations about the murky origins of his fortune since his abdication in 2014 have done irreparable damage to his reputation and harmed the Spanish monarchy.

Facebook content moderator cuts over 2,000 jobs in Spain

Canadian tech firm Telus International, tasked by Meta to moderate content on its social media networks Facebook and Instagram, will slash over 2,000 jobs in Barcelona, a Spanish union said Monday.

The move comes as Mark Zuckerberg's company has cut its third-party fact-checking in the United States and overhauled its content moderation policies.

Telus, which operates locally as Barcelona Digital Services, said during a Monday morning meeting that it had terminated the contracts "of all workers who were performing content moderation tasks" for Meta, affecting 2,059 people, union CCOO said in a statement.

The redundancy plan was decided after Meta cancelled its contract with Telus, according to the union, which added it had signed a preliminary agreement that will grant "the highest possible legal compensation" for the workers affected.

Contacted by AFP, a Telus spokesman refused to disclose how many jobs would be lost, saying "the priority remains to support the team members affected" by offering them "full assistance, including relocation opportunities for as many people as possible".