France - economic crisis

Workers threaten to blow up car plant

Article published on the 2009-07-13 Latest update 2009-07-14 15:03 TU

A Renault factory
(Photo : AFP)

Some 366 car workers at the PSA and Renault car factory in Châtellerault outside of Poitiers in central France threatened Sunday to blow up the whole factory if they do not each receive 30,000 euros layoff pay. Emergency workers have beefed up staff in the area and are taking the threat seriously after it was revealed that gas containers had already been placed in the factory in anticipation of the action.

"The gas bottles are in the factory. everything has been planned for it to blow up," Guy Eyermann, CGT union official, told AFP.

The deadline for the payout set by the auto workers is 31 July, but local officials are not taking any chances.

The factory holds two million euros worth of car parts as well as a new Renault machine worth another two million euros.

"We are not going to let PSA-Peugeot and Renault wait until August or September to recover the spare parts and machines still in the factory," said Eyermann. "If we get nothing, they get nothing at all," he added.

The workers' employer declared bankruptcy on June 16. They claim that Renault and Peugeot paid around 30,000 euros to 200 other workers laid off from another supplier.

The two carmakers claim that paying out the workers is not their responsibility. Both "do not have to take the place of the state or of shareholders," according to a company official.