at the same time, the Mulliez family will receive a billion euros in dividends

See my news
Follow News

An announcement that risks making people cringe. The sports brand Decathlon will pay its shareholder the Mulliez family association (AFM), which also owns the distributor Auchan where nearly 2,400 jobs are threatened, a billion euros dividends for the 2024 financial year, two unions indicated on Friday.

“No money for senior negotiations, mutual insurance or NAO”, obligatory annual negotiations, but at the same time “family shareholders are taking a billion euros in dividends” for 2024, lamented on his Facebook page the first union, the CFTC.

The CFDT Decathlon is in shock at this morning's announcement in the Decathlon group committee: one billion euros in dividends will be paid from Monday to the shareholders of the Mulliez family association (AFM) for the year 2024.

The CFDT calls employees to strike on Saturday December 7, the start of the Christmas period for major brands.

“Distributed to all shareholders”

A source close to management told AFP that this amount corresponded to “a distribution of reserves accumulated within the company over time by shareholders”. ” She is distributed to all shareholders including the company's more than 60,000 employees,” continues this source.

The AFM did not wish to comment.

In a reaction sent to AFP, Decathlon management assured that this decision “is part of balanced management of the company”.

“Our solid financial base allows us to transfer part of our reserves to all our shareholders while continuing to invest in strategic growth initiatives for the benefit of our employees, our customers and our partners,” she added. .

Large-scale social plan at Auchan

The announcement comes as another brand in the Mulliez galaxy, the food distributor Auchan, announced a major social plan, threatening a total of 2,389 jobs and including the closure of around ten stores and three warehouses.

The CFDT services federation had requested that reclassification proposals be made in other companies in the Mulliez galaxy, such as Leroy Merlin or Decathlon.

Leroy Merlin has also carried out a collective contractual termination in recent months at its headquarters in Lezennes, in the Lille suburbs, resulting in the departure of 130 employeesthe brand told AFP on Friday, confirming information from Echos.

The Mulliez “empire” is not “a group strictly speaking”, but “a galaxy of companies having in common that they are controlled by members of the Mulliez family association (AFM)”, explains on its website Bertrand Gobin, author of the book The hidden face of the Mulliez empire. Among these brands, Kiabi, Flunch, Boulanger and Norauto.

The CFDT also took up the pen this week to ask parliamentarians in particular to create a commission of inquiry “in order to really be able to understand what public money was used for” by the various AFM brands, according to a letter consulted by AFP. Michel Barnier asked himself the same question.

Source: AFP.

Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to Mon Actu.