Worried about the financial difficulties of the Ebusco company, regional councilor Laurent Bonnaterre questioned the president of the Normandy region and the prefect of Seine-Maritime about the future of the factory located in Cléon.
In his response by written letter of October 17, the prefect of Seine-Maritime indicates that his “services are vigilant about the situation of the company and have already contacted the services of the regional council and the Rouen Normandy Metropolis in order to take stock of all the room for maneuver available on the different amounts public funds already committed within the framework of subsidies for industrialization or public contracts awarded by the Metropolis”.
Subsidies reduced?
The creation of the assembly plant in Cléon was supported as part of the state recovery plan. The company was also a winner of the France 2030 plan. As a result, it had to receive two subsidies from the State (€70,000 and €800,000). However, the prefecture in its letter indicates that the final amount paid could be revised downwards, or even “to a reimbursement of all or part of the aid”according to the elements that will be transmitted in 2025 by the company on its financial situation.
As a reminder, the Dutch company is experiencing significant delays in the delivery of its electric buses, penalizing the Rouen Metropolis which placed a double order for a total of 95 buses. A situation which also impacts the Cléon factory, which is running slowly. On October 24, Ebusco validated its recovery plan with the objective of saving nearly 30 million euros per year by cutting jobs and outsourcing production.
For its part, the prefecture considers that it would currently be counterproductive to demand contractual penalties or reimbursement of subsidies from Ebusco. “This would increase pressure on the company's cash flow and could precipitate its placement in collective proceedings. »
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