The equipment manufacturer is the last automobile factory in Seine-Saint-Denis and employs 280 people in Aulnay-sous-Bois. The Bobigny commercial court must rule on May 13 on its possible liquidation.
The equipment manufacturer MA France, the last automobile factory in Seine-Saint-Denis which employs 280 people in Aulnay-sous-Bois, and subcontractor of the automobile giant Stellantis, requested Monday May 6 to be placed in compulsory liquidation. “We had a big surprise this morning in court where we learned that they (MA France management, editor’s note) requested a judicial liquidation and not a judicial recovery”explained to AFP a CGT union representative, member of the inter-union with FO and the CFDT.
The Bobigny commercial court must rule on May 13 at 2:00 p.m. on a possible liquidation of the company. “There is a very strong risk that judicial liquidation will be recorded”fears a worker from MA France. “The employees are in shock, we are taking the hit.” Since April 17, employees of MA France, owned by the Italian group CLN (7,000 employees, turnover of one billion euros), have been on strike to save their jobs.
Negotiations with management interrupted
In difficulty for several years, the company stamps in Aulnay-sous-Bois, on the former historic PSA site, essential body and chassis parts for small Peugeot or Citroën utility vehicles, for Opel SUVs, and also for Renault. This mobilization shut down three Stellantis factories for several weeks. That of Poissy (Yvelines) resumed production on May 2, but only partially. That of Luton (England) will resume on Tuesday and that of Hordain (North) on May 12, according to a spokesperson for the automobile group.
For the CFDT, MA France “had planned his move by transforming the request for judicial recovery into judicial liquidation without us being informed”denounces union delegate André Messi, present at the commercial court. “Our company acted without taking human lives into account. We believe that the employees have been cheated. We don’t want to be the joke, no one can leave with the minimum when we have sacrificed 20 years for the company”estimates the union representative.
The inter-union indicated that negotiations with management had ceased and that the supralegal compensation of 45,000 euros mentioned was no longer on the table. CLN “observed that its Aulnay site was not competitive and proposed extra-legal conditions which were validated on April 30 by a majority vote of employees and supported by the two majority unions of the MA France company. A minority union (the CGT, editor’s note) prevented the return to work by carrying out intimidation actions against employees who voted to return to work.deplores Stellantis in a press release.
“Faced with this situation, Stellantis has mobilized its internal means of producing stamped parts in its various French and European sites to supply and ensure the gradual restart of its three factories”continues this same press release.
Relocation to Türkiye
The Minister of Industry Roland Lescure asked Stellantis and Renault, MA France’s two main clients, on Monday to support their employees. “I expect that faced with this difficult situation, the company but also the main clients will be able to contribute to supporting employees”underlined Roland Lescure on the sidelines of the signing of the automobile sector contract, in Bercy.
Each of the 280 employees must be supported at the same time regarding the “social treatment” but also of “support for requalification”. Roland Lescure also directly questioned “a minority union organization” to MA France – i.e. the CGT – to have “decided, by stopping work, to rush things”.
PCF senator from Seine-Saint-Denis Fabien Gay assures that it is Stellantis “which has a social responsibility by relocating the production of its parts to Türkiye”. “There is also a double discourse from the government in wanting to revive industry with electricity and at the same time to deindustrialize, particularly in Seine-Saint-Denis. Soon, we will no longer build any cars in France.alerts the elected official who accompanied MA France employees to court on Monday morning.
