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In 2002, the Cuban government decided to close half the existing sugar mills in Cuba. Closures occur frequently in the history of the sugar industry and are usually associated with technological change. In this article, fragments of oral history interviews reveal several moments in the process, known as 'sugar restructuring'. In these interviews, former sugar workers refer among other issues to the impact that this event had on their lives. They also mention the scheme Estudio como trabajo (Study as Employment), which was created to encourage the re-qualification and relocation of those who were unemployed. These findings are based on two fieldwork studies carried out in the Cuban provinces of Matanzas and Artemisa between 2004 and 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]