The unions from the Cotelle factory were received around ten days ago at the Rhône prefecture, which told them that it was in contact with several potential buyers in order to maintain activity on the historic site of Rillieux-la-Pape. 104 jobs are at stake.
Le Figaro Lyon
We knew Bercy was alerted on the subject, the State is now officially mobilized to safeguard the Cotelle factory. The union delegates were received at the prefecture in mid-April to discuss the situation of the 104 employees of the last French site to package the famous green and white cartons from Javel Lacroix. With the hope of seeing a buyer arrive, while the American shareholder Colgate-Palmolive announced the cessation of activity in Rillieux-la-Pape for the month of September, despite profits estimated at two million euros on these production lines in recent years.
“The State reiterated its desire to maintain a quality production site and the interest in actively working on the search for a viable buyer”informed the entourage of the prefect of the Rhône, Fabienne Buccio, at the Figaro. The meeting with Vanina Nicoli, prefect delegated for equal opportunities, took place in the presence of the restructuring commissioner, the labor inspectorate and the employees’ lawyer. “The prefect listened to us and mentioned six buyers, four of whom were potential, three of whom would be interested; but without mentioning the names or specifying whether it was a total or partial recovery”says Jean Martins, CGT delegate to Figaro.
Negotiations in progress
The management was also received, a few days earlier, “in order to understand the reasons for this closure”. After the Covid years where activity and profits were supported by increasing demand, packaged volumes fell on the slack lines, which were nevertheless profitable. And as Palmolive is also Cotelle’s only client, American management announced its closure during an extraordinary CSE held on January 31. The activity must be taken over by McBride factories, in Belgium and Brittany, which already package distributor brands.
State services recalled the American group’s obligations to find a buyer but also to support employees. On this last aspect, negotiations continue between management and union delegates, without reaching a complete agreement. So much so that almost all of the 104 employees of the Cotelle factory, with an average age of 55 and seniority of 26 years, followed the unlimited strike notice.
In front of the faded blue gate where several elected officials and political leaders have succeeded one another, the vagueness in the soul has persisted since the beginning of the year. “They gorged themselves on our backs and now they throw us away like trashlamented Anouar, 49 years old including 16 spent at Cotelle, with the Figaro during the first strike picket, for the arrival of the local deputy, at the end of March. The latter had praised “a remarkable production tool”, since appraised for the recovery file. Buyers who could maintain activity on the 14,000 square meters of the factory, but not necessarily all the jobs.
