Eighteen months that the 97 employees of the Géant Casino store in Brest have had the feeling of “being taken for a ride”. Eighteen months that they were silent, letting their union representatives speak. This Friday, January 3, 2025, nearly 70 of them gathered in front of their old store to express their discomfort. “We continued to do our job. We waited for a possible buyer while listening to the different brand names that we were given. We had to do them all. When we were asked to empty our store, we did it even though it was hard,” explains Anne Charlotte* to her former colleagues.
Conversion projects stopped
This former manager of the drugstore, perfumery and hygiene department had finally managed to turn the page in recent months. She had to undergo training to change path to secretarial work. “The file was ready. All this was stopped when Casino management withheld our dismissal letters.”
We have nothing against E. Leclerc but we had almost all moved on to something else
Indeed, while all the employees of the stores not taken over received their mail at the end of November, those of the Brest employees never left. “We knew there was a buyer with E. Leclerc. But we had already mourned our store,” continues Louise, another reception and after-sales service employee, with thirty years of experience under her belt.
“We have nothing against E. Leclerc but we had practically all moved on to something else. Since July, management has even forced us to plan and think about the future,” says Lucie*, a former employee in the food department, who also had a retraining project in progress.
A project that is still unclear
The plan to take over E. Leclerc was therefore not the good news at the end of the year. A project which is still a little vague for these employees. In the central CSE in Saint-Étienne, on December 11, 2024, a draft was discussed with 3,000 m² intended for food, 295 m² for a drugstore and 1,400 m² for a toy store. 2,800 m² remain of the 7,500 m² available.
All we ask for now is a choice. For once!
A next meeting of the central CSE must be held, still in Saint-Étienne, on Wednesday January 8, 2025 with, perhaps, finally answers for Brest employees. Some doubt. They mention €10 million worth of work to restore the store. “The labs, the fridges, the display cases, the equipment… Everything has to be redone! »
“All we ask for now is to have a choice. For once! », insists Justine*. A request widely shared by the other employees present. Because, with this recovery project on the gong, it is the question of the PSE (employment protection plan) which arises. Are the negotiated departure conditions valid for Brest employees? “We think yes, management says no,” summarizes Magali Charnacé, Unsa union representative.
Emotional elevator for 18 months
For Brest residents, the situation would not in fact be the same in the event of exclusion from the PSE: no training funding, no right to unemployment, etc. “Three of us found other jobs. They will have to come back with the E. Leclerc project or resign without rights,” explains the elected official. In the crowd of employees, a man says: “We are prisoners. For them, we’re just a number, anyway.” The others agree. “This emotional elevator is very hard,” adds Justine. A psychological unit in Brest, obtained by the unions, will open shortly. In the meantime, the employees seem disillusioned: “The GMS does not give gifts,” summarizes Anne-Charlotte.
*First names have been changed at the request of employees.
