ArcelorMittal employees in Reims vent their anger after the announcement of the site's closure

Disappointed, bitter, and above all angry. Dozens of ArcelorMittal employees stopped work as of Tuesday afternoon after the announcement “brutal” of the upcoming closure of the “Service Centers” company, the steel giant’s largest factory in Reims.

This Wednesday, November 20, 2024 in the sky of Reims, smoke is visible, more particularly in the north of the city. They come from pallet fires, which workers and staff representatives have been lighting since the end of the morning, at the entrance to the factory, located in the Port Colbert area.

Nearly 100 employees on the job

The activity is at a standstill. Several dozen employees have refused to return to work since their management presented, Tuesday November 19, 2024 during an extraordinary CSE, their plan to close two production sites, in Reims and Denain (North).

“As a symbol, the announcement came in the middle of a storm”bitterly comments Nicolas Legrain, CGT delegate, in reference to the weather on Tuesday November 19, 2024 in Reims. But above all, it was a social storm that hit the site workers.

“We expected an announcement, but not something so brutal, reacts Steven Decolf, another CGT delegate. We thought they were going to slim down a little. But here, the closure of two sites is a massive blow. »

Specializing in the transformation of steel coils, this ArcelorMittal factory has nearly 200 employees: “97 in production and 93 in the offices”explain the staff representatives. These should be “fairly preserved”while the 97 employees responsible for production “will find themselves on the floor”.

Closure planned for the second quarter of 2025

While a new CSE is planned for Monday, November 25, 2024, in Reims (and no longer in Metz as initially planned), employees and their representatives intend to maintain the pressure until then. “Our objective is to save the site and keep jobs! »declares staff representative Nicolas Legrain.

But the management's objective is quite different. According to comments reported by the national boss of ArcelorMittal's “Service Centers”, Jean-Marc Butin, who came to Reims this Wednesday morning, the company would like to close the Reims site « have second quarter 2025 ».