“We don’t know our future”: the concern of employees of a Stellantis subcontractor

Employees of MA France in Aulnay-sous-Bois, a subcontractor of Stellantis, have been on strike since April 17. Threatened with filing for bankruptcy, they hope to save their factory or leave with financial compensation.

In the MA France factory in Aulnay-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis), body parts are piling up. The factory has been shut down since April 17.

“We’ve known for a few months that the company is doing very badly. We don’t know our future. We want to have one with the company, but if it files for bankruptcy, we want to leave with dignity and a sum which is consistent with what we have done here for 20 years for some”, worries Charles Salingue, logistics team leader.

According to him, the situation has been particularly worrying for three weeks. “A new HR manager came, we felt that he was trying to close this company and that we all leave with nothing,” he continues.

MA France supplies bodywork and chassis parts for small Peugeot or Citroën utility vehicles, for Opel Mokka and DS3 Crossback SUVs, and also for Renault.

The Ma France factory employs 280 employees and 150 temporary workers. • © France 3 Paris Ile-de-France

According to the CGT, the management of MA France has mentioned a possible bankruptcy filing “in the event of failure of relatively obscure negotiations with its main partner Stellantis”. The automobile group responded that no negotiations were underway and that the manufacturer had withdrawn production at the factory in 2021.

A Social and Economic Committee was held on this day, but it was canceled. “We are postponing this meeting because we are being treated like animals. Our factory is in danger of closing, we want to have elements,” declares angrily Adel Zorgui, CGT union representative. According to him, security guards were stationed at the entrance to the meeting and trade unionists had to show them their identity documents to be able to enter.

The CEO of Stellantis is accused by employees of lowering costs and putting MA France in danger. • © France 3 Paris Ile-de-France

This strike has direct consequences for Stellantis employees. Three factories, those of Hordain and Poissy, have been shut down since April 22, and Luton since an unspecified date, Stellantis said.

The employees are technically unemployed (they receive 84% of their salary according to an FO manager).

Danièle Obono, MP (LFI) from Paris, was present in front of the strike picket this Friday, trying in particular to publicize the conflict: “There are 150 temporary workers who are risking their jobs and being left behind in a city which has already been heavily traumatized by the departure of PSA MA France is totally dependent on Stellantis, whose boss likes to say that it has great dividends and that if we do not agree, we must legislate.

According to Stellantis, MA France “encounters structural competitiveness difficulties which handicap it in the acquisition of new markets. The inflationary context (materials, labor, energy) also impacts its profitability”.

The Franco-Italian-American manufacturer said it was “optimistic about the resolution of the resumption of operations”.

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