The automotive supplier Valeo has announced its desire to cut 868 positions, the group's management said on Wednesday.
Eight French sites are concerned.
“A strategic error,” castigated the FO union.
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The automotive sector is in dire straits. The equipment manufacturer Valeo plans to cut 868 positions on eight of its French sites, the group's management said on Wednesday, November 27. An announcement “dramatic”reacted the Force Ouvrière (FO) union. In detail, Valeo management announced to employees 694 forced departures and 174 voluntary departures, according to a group spokesperson.
The sites of La Suze-sur-Sarthe (Sarthe) and La Verrière (Yvelines) will be closed. Most of their employees will be offered positions at other nearby Valeo sites. The one in L'Isle-d'Abeau (Isère) will not close, but will reduce its workforce, with 70 employees instead of 308 until now. Those of Sainte-Florine (Haute-Loire), Reims (Marne), Laval (Mayenne), Amiens (Somme) and Limoges (Haute-Vienne) are also affected.
“A dramatic announcement”
This announcement is “a project” dont “the timetable and modalities will be discussed next“, said the group's spokesperson. “We worked to have a plan that protects production operators“, who are not affected by forced departures, he underlined.
According to the Force Ouvrière (FO) union, the total would in fact be 1,282 job cuts, out of 13,500 employees in France, if the employees refuse their transfer and if we also take into account the vacant positions eliminated. In addition, 200 positions could be cut in Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland.
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“This is a dramatic announcementreacted Bertrand Bellanger, from FO. Reducing costs may be necessary, but sacrificing jobs and weakening the future of the sector in France is a strategic error.”he judged. Before adding: “The electrification of the automobile represents a major turning point for the sector. But it must not be to the detriment of employees.”
Valeo is yet another giant in the automotive sector to suffer from the slowdown in the European automobile market and to announce job cuts, after Michelin, Ford and Bosch. Specializing in electronic and lighting systems, the equipment manufacturer also suffers from slipping electrification, with “a lot of postponements of new production launches among manufacturers”explained its general director Christophe Périllat at the end of October.
