It’s a surprise announcement that everyone could have done without. On Wednesday November 27, the automotive supplier Valéo announced the elimination of more than 900 jobs throughout France, including in Amiens.
Several sites will permanently close. After ArcelorMittal and Auchan, it is the turn of the automotive supplier Valeo to announce 868 job cuts in France according to the first information given by the group this Wednesday, November 27.
These forced and voluntary departures concern employees of eight French sites: La Suze-sur-Sarthe (Sarthe), La Verrière (Yvelines), Sainte-Florine (Haute-Loire), Reims (Marne), Laval (Mayenne), Amiens ( Somme), L’Isle-d’Abeau (Isère) and Limoges (Haute-Vienne).
This blow comes a few weeks after the postponement of Valeo's European committee until early December, which had caused a wave of concern, particularly in Sarthe and Isère where the sites have been for sale since last July. If the first will indeed close, the second will experience a drastic reduction in its workforce.
Political reactions after Valéo's announcement
Alain Gest, president of Amiens Métropole, and Hubert de Jenlis, mayor of Amiens, react to this announcement.
“Thanks to its positioning around sustainable mobility, and in particular the production of wet triple clutches for plug-in hybrid vehicles, the Amiens site is not affected by a closure project and should remain a strategic unit of the group in Europe.
Alain Gest, President of Amiens Métropole and Hubert de Jenlis, Mayor of Amiens, nevertheless deplore the elimination in their city of around 40 positions in support functions, accompanied by a voluntary departure plan for around forty additional positions. They send a message of solidarity to the employees concerned and their families. They have already asked to meet the company's general management so that it can reassure them about the group's strategy in France. They will also propose to receive employee representatives together and will be attentive to any reclassification proposals that may be made.
Aware of the difficulties of the automotive sector in France and Europe, which is undergoing rapid change in the face of the transition to electric, Chinese competition and the slowdown in consumption, Alain Gest and Hubert de Jenlis underline that the investments decided in 2021 on the site Amiens, assisted to the tune of one million euros by the community alongside the State and the Hauts-de-France Region, on the Research, development and innovation aspect, are not affected by this plan.”
On Wednesday, November 27, Rémi Cardon, senator from the Somme, questioned the Minister of the Economy about the fears surrounding Valéo: “The Minister was not able to provide a convincing response and did not provide proof of ambition and clear direction to halt the deindustrialization of the country” according to Senator Cardon.
