The employees have been on partial strike since December, and voted for a total strike on the site on January 13.
Arkema employees and union representatives expressed their concern and anger on Wednesday, the day after the announcement of the elimination of 154 jobs out of the 344 at the Jarrie site in Isère. A consequence, according to the chemist, of the need to “refocusing on hydrogen peroxide, chlorate and perchlorate activities” faced with the difficulties of Vencorex, its neighbor and supplier of salt, the main raw material for the Arkema Jarrie site. The employees have been on partial strike since December, and voted for a total strike on the site on January 13. In question, the “lack of guarantees” and of “visibility” on the sustainability of the site, targeted mainly on its southern part (production of chlorine, soda, methyl chloride and technical fluids) by the employment protection plan.
“We have no guarantee about the future, on the northern part (which produces hydrogen peroxide, chlorates and perchlorates, Editor's note). Today, the entire site is in the hot seat”denounces Alexandre Fiat, CGT secretary of Arkema Jarrie. The unions accuse the group's management of taking advantage of a “windfall effect” with Vencorex's difficulties to justify the closure of part of the site. “They are taking advantage of this to close a factory that they have wanted to close for a long time, because according to them it does not make enough money”believes Alexandre Fiat. According to the unions, the closure is all the less justified as the targeted workshops could continue to operate without Vencorex salt, with an external supply of liquid chlorine.
-Representatives of Arkema management are due to go to the Jarrie site on Thursday to present the PES to employees. “A PSE is done over three months, so we are in uncertainty”points out Quentin Morant, elected CFDT. “What will the future hold? We have families, we have children, so it’s a little worrying”. For its part, management ensures that“a support and assistance unit for professional repositioning will be set up on the site as soon as possible” to help reclassify employees. Since Vencorex, a pivotal company in the chemicals valley in Rhône-Alpes, went into receivership on September 10, 2024, the sector has been holding its breath because all activities are dependent on each other, and the absence of salt affects many industrialists in the sector.
