“Spending the Christmas holidays in these conditions is really very hard. We can’t sleep peacefully. Fortunately there is a lot of solidarity. This is my third social plan, but I am especially thinking of young people who have loans on their backs. The crisis is really everywhere… » Fabrice, 52, working at ArcellorMittal since 1999, is not the only one to be worried at the end of the year in Reims and its region.
There are hundreds like him who fear the worst, regarding their reclassification next year while several companies in the Reims area, Valeo, ArcelorMittal and Reims Aerospace, have announced their intention to close factories or lay off staff. Some will be in the procession of the demonstration planned for Saturday, on the Place d’Erlon in Reims.
For several weeks, the industry has been going through a painful crisis in the region. The liquidation of the aeronautical subcontractor Reims Aerospace was declared on November 14, leaving 75 employees behind. In the process, the steel giant ArcellorMittal announced, for June 2025, the closure of its “Service Center” which has 113 employees. Only administrative positions will be retained. Finally, the automotive supplier Valeo launched a social plan with the announced elimination of 97 jobs out of 323 (64 jobs under the PSE and 33 with the voluntary departure plan). In total in the Reims area, 285 jobs are affected by social or voluntary departure plans.
“Reclassification promises to be difficult”
In total, some 285 jobs are affected, including 64 covered by a job protection plan (PSE) and 33 by a voluntary departure plan. Enough to justify the unprecedented gathering in Reims this Saturday. “The goal is to question citizens about our devastated employment area and about everything that is happening at the moment in Reims. Perhaps some will find work but reclassification promises to be very difficult,” specifies Pascal Valladou, FO union representative at Valeo.
The first negotiations on the eliminated positions will start in January on the Valeo site in Reims. Until then, the unions hope to increase the number of walkouts to continue to raise awareness of their cause among elected officials and the population. “The Region gave money to Valeo for the reindustrialization of the Reims site,” recalls Pascal Valladou. But, in the end, it didn’t save our jobs, it’s not normal. »
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