Brukman is a textile factory in Balvanera, Buenos Aires, Argentina (Jujuy 554). Currently under the control of a worker cooperative called "18 de Diciembre", it is among the most famous of the country's "recovered factories". The Brukman factory suffered the effects of the Argentine economic crisis, which first became clearly noticeable as a recession in 1998. Since 1995 business had been shrinking, and Brukman had fired over half of its formerly 300 employees. Sales were dropping and debts had piled up.