Video. This is one of the biggest layoff plans in 40 years and the public authorities are doing nothing: at Milee, “it ends badly”

The 10,000 former employees of the advertising distributor Milee, placed in compulsory liquidation, are still stuck and unable to turn the page but also to look for a new job. “This is the largest social plan in 40 years, with more than 10,000 employees made redundant,” protests Sébastien Bernard, central CGT union representative at Milee.

After being placed in receivership on May 30, 2024, the company Milee, formerly Adrexo and the leading private operator in the distribution of advertising materials, has been declared in liquidation since September 9, 2024. For Glyn Evans, 70 years old and distributor of prospectus in Niort for 8 years, this social plan ends badly. “We’re letting people no longer receive any money and no longer receive anything… It’s serious, we’re letting these people die. »

More work, more resources

Since the announcement of the judicial liquidation, the 10,000 employees, often elderly and already in precarious situations, are still waiting for their last two months of pay but also their balance of any account, necessary to apply to France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) .

Present alongside the leaflet distributors harmed by Milee, the general secretary of the CGT, Sophie Binet, calls into question the government’s lack of anticipation and calls for an end to the job reduction plans.

« The situation in Milee is an illustration of the absence of industrial policy of this government, which makes decisions on a side table without worrying about their social impact, as was the case with Oui Pub (experimental system aimed at reduce the distribution of printed matter – Editor’s note). The situation in Milee is a huge social scandal for this reason, but also because it involves 10,000 employees who have had absolutely no income for three months. » insisted the union leader.

A predicted shipwreck?

Milee’s management, citing a collapse in the printed advertising distribution market in France, initially announced in March a restructuring plan providing for the elimination of 3,500 positions. But even before this plan was put in place, “ the losses could not be stemmed and Milee’s cash flow was too weakened at the end of the first quarter », then indicated the management to explain its request for legal redress on May 30.

180 layoff plans, including that of Milee, are currently underway, according to the CGT. The union center urgently calls for a moratorium on all layoffs.