The news was announced on January 30, 2023 during a CSE. This team, which produces 3008s and 5008s, had been in place for six years in the Doubs car factory. Bad news for jobs.
No more night work in the Sochaux factory in the Montbéliard region. Management confirms the news. The night activity will stop at the beginning of April, specifies the management. Two daytime production teams will be maintained.
The Sochaux plant currently produces 1,200 vehicles per day, so it will reduce its production by a third. A half-surprise for the unions. “We know that between each range of vehicles, there is an air bubble, a little less demand” reacts Eric Peultier, elected FO. “The management announces Saturdays worked in March, and more hours, and we are told that there is no longer any need for the night shift. A sharp drop of 400 cars a day is quite surprising,” he said.
For Benoît Vernier of the CFDT, this sudden drop in production is mainly explained by the current automotive market. It is not only the situation of the 3008, of which a new version is expected, but the market which is rather down. “We expected it with inflation, the energy crisis, purchasing power… people are not thinking about buying a new car at the moment,” he said.
In January, the French new car market continued its slight upturn in January, with 111,939 vehicles sold (+8.8%). The Stellantis group continues to suffer greatly from logistical problems, with 33,782 cars sold (-9.48%), and limited sales at Peugeot and Citroën. In the country of Montbéliard, according to the unions, many cars are still in stock and awaiting shipment.
Among them are many holders on permanent contracts, but also temporary workers. “Let us be told quickly when we close this night shift. Once again, it is the temporary workers who will pay the price. And the employees who will have to find a new family organization to come to work” notes Eric Peultier (FO). Management says it will keep a steering wheel of temporary workers. She hopes to be able to ramp up production in the coming months.
While waiting for the CFDT, with the end of the night shift, the fear is also social. The union opposes any forced mobility within factory positions.
The Stellantis factory in Sochaux employs 2,700 production workers, as well as nearly 1,000 temporary workers. The night shift had never been interrupted for six years, except during the covid-19 confinement and in 2022 when the shortage of semiconductors.