The distributor Auchan, long the flagship of the Mulliez galaxy, has been experiencing difficulties for several years and is preparing to present on Tuesday to representatives of its employees in France a large-scale draft social plan, which could threaten around 2,300 jobs.
Commenting only with caution due to a lack of official information, the “retail” union representative for FO, Franck Martinaud, nonetheless observed to AFP on Monday: “We have already had numerous PSEs (employment protection plan, editor’s note) but none have exceeded 1,000 positions, if that is the number, it is enormous.”
Asked by AFP, Auchan management did not wish to comment.
The unions are in any case expecting bad news this Tuesday, with the convening of employee representatives from several entities of the distributor, during CSE (social and economic committee) planned in the Lille region for a “update on the company's situation and its projects”.
According to a source close to the matter interviewed by AFP and who requested anonymity, around 2,300 jobs could be threatened by social plans carried out at different levels of the company: some in support functions within different headquarters, another part in stores.
“Not easy” period
“I know that we are in a difficult economic period, but to have figures like that…”reacted to AFP Fabien Alliata, CFDT central services union delegate.
On Sunday, the specialist in the mass distribution sector Olivier Dauvers estimated that “if the unions are trembling, there are reasons”especially because “the difficulties” from Auchan in France “have for years been covered by international activities”.
But since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the distributor's very profitable Russian branch no longer plays this role. In recent days, press reports have mentioned the sale of this Russian subsidiary, which told AFP not to comment. “rumors on the market”.
Since the collapse of the Saint-Etienne Casino group, where a PSE is also underway and could affect more than 3,000 jobs, Auchan is regularly cited as the worst-off in large-scale food distribution.
Strong shareholders
The group has several handicaps in France, even if it has financially solid shareholders, in the person of the Mulliez Family Association (AFM), also the owner of the lucrative Leroy Merlin or Decathlon.
First, Auchan's market share, at 9.1% at the last count, far behind E.Leclerc (24.1%), Carrefour (21.4%), Mousquetaires/Intermarché (17.4%) and Cooperative U (12.2%), leaves it less room for maneuver in its negotiations with agro-industrial suppliers.
To carry more weight, Auchan joined forces with its competitor Intermarché to buy together in an alliance lasting an unusually long 10 years.
In addition, the group which owns its stores, with very few franchises, suffers from competition from E.Leclerc, Intermarché and Coopérative U.
These groupings of independent companies reduce operating costs as much as possible and social conditions are generally lower. This generally allows these stores to be able to sell their products at more competitive prices.
Another weak point for Auchan: the group has historically relied on the format of hypermarkets, the largest stores, but this is less popular today.
Over the first six months of 2024, its holding company Elo suffered a net loss of almost a billion euros. Last year, it suffered a net loss of 379 million euros with declining sales, while inflation had boosted the sales of most of its major retail competitors.
