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France - jobs
Continued unrest in French companies, with bossnapping complaints and new layoffs
Article published on the 2009-04-24 Latest update 2009-04-24 11:56 TU
French and German employees of the Continental tyre company demonstrate in Hanover, 23 April 2009
(Photo: Reuters)
Four managers at the Caterpillar plant in Grenoble, who were held by their employees last month, have filed an official complaint with the police, and the two Molex managers held Monday are claiming they were hostage victims. The electronic chip-maker Freescale announced 800 layoffs in Toulouse. And the Continental factory in Claroix may be bought by a Dubai-based company.
Napped Caterpillar bosses go to the cops
The four managers at the Grenoble plant of the US construction equipment company Caterpillar who were held for 24 hours by their employees on 31 March have filed an official complaint.
Police in Grenoble have opened an investigation, though the complaint, filed Wednesday, does not name any Caterpillar employees by name.
According to the Dauphiné Libéré newspaper, it is unlikely any charges will be filed against the employees because they allowed their bosses to use their phones, which under French law means they were not victims of unlawful confinement.
Molex bosses say they are hostage victims
The two managers of the car electronics supplier Molex in Villemur-sur-Tarn, some 40 kilometers north of Toulouse in southern France, who were held for 26 hours on Monday by their employees, say they are hostage victims.
“It’s just criminal,” said co-director Marcus Kerriou. “I see no excuse for these attacks on personal liberty. It’s nothing other than hostage taking.”
He said he has not ruled out the possibility of bringing legal action against the employees.
Semiconductor company to lay off 800 in Toulouse
The American semiconductor manufacturer Freescale will lay off 800 workers from its electronic chip factory in Toulouse, in the south of France, by the end of 2011. Some 600 Research and Development employees will retain their jobs.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the company said plant closures are necessary “to remain competitive and maintain an efficient manufacturing footprint.”
Local politicians reacted with support for the workers.
“If necessary, we will go to the US to tell the directors that they cannot erase a historic company, which has qualifications,” said the Socialist mayor of Toulouse, Pierre Cohen.
Most of teh chips produced in Toulouse are used in the auto industry, which has taken a hit. The company will also lay off workers in Japan and Scotland.
Dubai company interested in Continental tires
The French government is seriously considering an offer from MAG a Dubai-based company, to take over the Continental tyre company in Claroix, 80 kilometers north of Paris, which announced it will have to close and lay off 1,200 employees.
French Minister for Economic Recovery, Patrick Devedjian, said Thursday he received a letter of intention from MAG’s director Moafaq Al Gaddahun saying the company had the means to acquire the factory. Devedjian blamed Continental for not being willing to consider the acquisition, for fear of helping the competition.
Thursday some 3,000 French and German Continental employees took to the streets of Hannover in protest of job cuts.
 French, German workers protest Continental plant closures |
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