This Friday, December 20, 2024, the last Saupiquet cannery in France closed its doors. 155 employees produced canned mackerel and sardines in Quimper (Finistère). The production lines will be relocated to Spain and Morocco.
Loïg Chesnais-Girard, president of the Brittany Region, speaks again on the subject: “This decision by the Italian group Bolton Food, motivated by a search for short-term profitability, goes against the needs of our country and of Europe in terms of food sovereignty. At a time when we must strengthen our agri-food sectors and guarantee quality industrial jobs, this departure is a worrying industrial setback. »
He adds: “Above all, I think of the women and men of this factory who find themselves unemployed this evening. Such a situation is deeply unfair and painful. The Region will be fully mobilized to guarantee them support that meets everyone's expectations. After the announcements from Saupiquet, Michelin and Fonderie de Bretagne, it is imperative that a collective reflection on the preservation of our industrial fabric be carried out nationally. »
Read also: “We would have preferred to keep our jobs”: in Quimper, the Saupiquet factory closes just before Christmas
Isabelle Assih, the socialist mayor of Quimper, also reacts: “This decision comes at a time when this international group is making very significant profits. I deplore this strategy, which took into account neither the constant support of the agglomeration for the modernization of the Quimper site, nor the expertise of these men and women who, for some, have worked their entire career within the 'factory. As soon as this announcement was made, with my colleagues Hervé Herry and Marc Andro, I met with employee representatives to show the support of local elected officials for the 152 employees on the site. QBO will thus make the Dan Ar Braz room available for the holding, at the beginning of January, of an employment forum dedicated to employees of the factory where 40 local companies plan to be present. »
