Some 20,000 jobs have been lost at 40 business located in industrial free zones over the past few months. A press statement released by the Dominican Association of Free Zones (ADOZONA) attributed the losses to the high cost of electricity and the appreciation of the peso relative to the dollar. Arturo Peguero, ADOZONA president, said that over the next 60 days another 2,000 workers will lose their jobs, and he called for some adjustments in the costs of doing business and a return to a more competitive stance. Peguero suggested a renewal of the products being produced by the different industries, in order to produce more innovative items. Luisa Fernandez, an executive with the National Council of Free Zones, expressed confidence that new investments would continue to come into the Dominican Republic to soften the loss of jobs. She pointed out that Gilden Activeware, a Canadian company, has just begun operations in its first plant in the Free Zones with an investment for US$60 million and the creation of 1,500 jobs.