Two thousand five hundred fewer jobs in the space branch of Airbus, 15,000 jobs threatened in chemicals, increase in judicial liquidations: French industry fears the beginnings of a social storm, the CGT already denouncing a “bleeding” in automobiles.
Many automobile parts factories have in fact been in difficulty for several months due to the continued relocation of manufacturers, the slowdown in the market and especially the shift towards electric motors to reduce CO2 emissions, which makes certain know-how obsolete. do related to diesel or gasoline engines.
“Overall, we are entering this period of increase in the number of very fragile companies” explained in August Marc Mortureux, of the Automobile Platform (PFA) which represents automobile manufacturers and equipment suppliers in France.
The CGT has identified “180 redundancy plans” in progress in the industry in France, estimating the situation “extremely worrying”.
In total, “around 100,000 employees” are affected directly or indirectly, and particularly the automobile sector, according to the general secretary of the country’s second union Sophie Binet, who met Antoine Armand and Marc Ferracci, ministers of Economy and Industry, against the backdrop of budget cuts and increased taxation on businesses.
The union is asking the government for “moratorium on layoffs”a “in-depth reorientation of industrial policy”the outfit “industry foundation” and the establishment of an industry savings account to finance industry in the long term.
Presentation of an electric Renault R4 at the Paris Expo motor show, Porte de Versailles in Paris, October 15, 2024 / Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP
At a time when new battery mega-factories are helping to reindustrialize the north of France and supplying the electricity sector, the rest of the country is seeing a slew of equipment manufacturers more linked to electricity disappear. “world before”foundry SMEs specializing in stamping, gearboxes, aluminum rims, connecting rods or starters.
Concern also affects global giants.
While the fate of the Stellantis factory in Poissy (Yvelines) which assembles the Opel Mokka and DS3 Crossback SUVs is discussed, the French factories of the Franco-Italian-American giant will be determined on their fate in mid-November, when they will receive their three-year production plan, we learned on the sidelines of the motor show this week.
At Michelin, the inter-union announced on Wednesday that it was suspending its participation in any meeting with management while awaiting responses to its concerns about the drop in activity in three factories: in Cholet (Maine-et-Loire), Vannes (Morbihan) and Joué-les-Tours (Indre-et-Loire).
The tire giant will also shut down two specialized factories in Puy-en-Velay (Haute-Loire, civil engineering) and Troyes (Aube, agricultural tires) for a few weeks.
Concurrence “disloyal”
In aeronautics, the defense and space branch of Airbus, which notably manufactures satellites, announced this week that up to 2,500 positions could disappear by mid-2026, in this activity which currently has some 35,000 employees.
The reasons given range from the breakdown of supply chains to the rise of competition from Elon Musk’s American SpaceX with its Starlink low-orbit constellations.
In all sectors, including steel, a basic material, manufacturers often blame competition deemed unfair from China, which is flooding Europe with low-cost products from heavily subsidized factories. illegal.
In chemistry, the European Commission is currently investigating 30 anti-dumping investigations, out of 132 files opened in total, underlines Magali Smets, of the France Chimie Federation which brings together 1,300 companies.
The chemical industry, regularly highlighted in environmental news in recent years on the subject of PFAS or pesticides, is suffering economically.
This week, chemical employers launched a cry of alarm to the government: 15,000 jobs are threatened within three years, or 8% of the approximately 200,000 direct jobs in the sector.
The dropout of the sector, also clearly perceptible in Germany, can be explained firstly by “the cost of energy”superior on the Old Continent to other regions of the world, explains France Chimie.
The sector has recorded around a thousand job cuts in recent months at Solvay, Syensqo, ExxonMobil, Metex. On Monday, the chemist WeylChem Mamotte (Oise) announced a reorganization which “could lead to” around a hundred layoffs, after the loss of its first client, the Sino-Swiss manufacturer of phytosanitary products and seeds Syngenta.
