unions fear a large-scale social plan at Auchan

Concern is growing among Auchan employees. The unions fear a major social plan project from the food distribution giant, which has been experiencing economic and commercial difficulties for several years. Staff representatives from several entities of this Mulliez galaxy group were summoned on Tuesday, November 5 to CSE (social and economic committee) in the Lille region for a “update on the company's situation and its projects”causing concern. Asked by AFP, Auchan management did not wish to comment.

Several stores should be affected by this social plan, the figures for which have not been confirmed, such as that of Villeneuve-d'Ascq (North), which already knows that 50% of the supermarkets must close. The non-food part of the store, which includes textiles and household appliances, no longer attracts customers. The distributor hopes to reduce the commercial space of a certain number of them, wishing to offer other brands the opportunity to set up on the vacant space. According to Gilles Martin, CFDT Auchan Retail national union delegate, hypermarkets have not been able to stand out. “We have also warned several times about Auchan’s lack of vision through advertising, for example”he assures France 2.

The group had already announced in September 2020 the elimination of 1,475 positions in France, after a voluntary departure plan of more than 500 positions in January 2020. Over the first six months of 2024, its holding company Elo suffered a net loss of almost of a billion euros. Last year, it suffered a net loss of 379 million euros with declining sales, while inflation had boosted the sales of most of its major retail competitors.

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