Critical questioning of the government returns as a leitmotiv as soon as a large company announces a social plan: what have you done with state aid? The Prime Minister spoke about this on Tuesday, November 5, during the session of government questions in the National Assembly, a few hours after the announcements of 2,389 layoffs by Auchan and the closure by Michelin of the Cholet factories (Maine -Maine). Loire) and Vannes, which employ 1,254 people.
“I am not proud of a policy that would destroy jobs, alwayslaunched Michel Barnier. I am concerned about what we did in these groups with the public money we gave them. (…). So we are going to ask questions and see if this money was used well or badly, to learn lessons. » Saying “disagree” with Michelin’s plan, said he had met with its general director, Florent Menegaux, who justified the decision by saying“activity collapse” in the hypercompetitive tire market.
The government expects a mobilization of the two companies, together with local elected officials and unions, to find reconversion solutions. Mr. Menegaux indicated that “ doeach [serait] individual support until you find a job.” What the tire giant claims to have done in 2019, during the closure of the La Roche-sur-Yon plant, where, according to him, almost all employees had found work. Even if Auchan (Mulliez group) has not made such commitments, it is not a “degrowth project”assured its general director, Guillaume Darrasse.
With Michelin, Barnier finds himself in the situation of his distant predecessor, the socialist Lionel Jospin, in 1999. Given the announcement of 7,500 layoffs in Europe, the head of Government warned that“ he doesn’t do it [fallait] “Do not expect everything from the State”. He added: “I don’t think we can manage the economy now. It is not through laws or texts that we regulate the economy. » A conviction that fell very badly within the plural left.
Slow overall demand
The effectiveness of the political class is regularly questioned when social plans of this magnitude are implemented, and these concomitant announcements from Auchan and Michelin will rekindle concerns about a deteriorating labor market in France. Reindustrialization has been stalled for a year and social plans are returning to several sectors. Personnel reductions are also expected in the space-defense branch of Airbus, serious threats hang over the automobile industry (manufacturers, equipment suppliers and distributors) and several difficult negotiations are taking place in the chemical-petrochemical sector (Vencorex, ExxonMobil, etc.).
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