Threatened with layoffs, French factory workers threaten explosion
July 20, 2009
Auto parts workers in France say they will blow up factory unless paid by French carmakers Renault and Peugeot
The economic crisis has caused explosive anger in many quarters all over the world — at everyone from bankers to governments. Now factory workers in a small town in France are threatening to blow up their 62-year-old factory unless they are paid off for their lost jobs to the tune of $42,000 (30,000 euros) each by carmakers Renault and Peugeot, which account for almost all of the factory’s business.
The auto parts maker, New Fabris, recently went into bankruptcy and is forced to lay off its workers, some of whom have been there more than 20 years. But even the newer workers are protesting. In France, a country where cradle-to-grave employment is considered virtually a right, and firing workers once hired is next to impossible, the economic crisis is creating an existential one, as well as a wave of outrage and disbelief. Suddenly finding out that they are losing what they were sure was a secure and well-paid job is driving some workers to extreme measures. “Bossnappings” have been reported across France as managers are held hostage by dsigruntled employees whose jobs are threatened.
The 366 New Fabris workers who are protesting have barricaded themselves in ide the factory, and say that they have gas cannisters that they will blow up if their compensation demands in exchange for their lost wages are not met. Police think that the workers are bluffing and that the canisters are empty, but the workers and their union spokesperson insist that they are dead serious. Emergency services in the small northeastern town of Chatellerault are taking the threat seriously and are on high alert. The factory is full of expensive equipment worth millions of dollars, some of it owned by Renault, which the workers are holding inside, refusing to let any of it be removed. The workers have set a deadline of July 31 for their demands to be met.
The reason for the closure of the factory goes back to the worldwide economic crisis. French car manufacturers Peugeot and Renault were supplied by the New Fabris plant for decades. and at the time of the bankruptcy accounted for 90% of the factory’s orders. But now, with car purchases down in France as they are around the world, and carmakers going bankrupt or being bought out by healthier companies with their own supply chain, demand for parts has plummeted. The two French carmakers expressed sympathy for the plight of the workers, and have already given financial support to the company, but said it was not their responsibility to compensate them for their lost jobs. The workers counter that Renault and Peugeot have already set a precedent by previously paying off 200 workers at an aluminum plant in France. The New Fabris workers want a similar deal. Their own employer has offered to pay them only about half what they are demanding, and that only for workers with more than 20 years on the job.
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