During a session of oral questions to the government, the deputy for Doubs, Matthieu Bloch, questioned the government on the future of the Stellantis site in Belchamp near the historic Sochaux factory in the Montbéliard region.
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“Despite the investments (…), serious concern remains about the future of the research and development branch.” It is with these words that the deputy for Doubs, Matthieu Bloch (LR having formed an alliance with Eric Ciotti in the last legislative elections), challenged the delegated minister in charge of Artificial Intelligence and digital technology, Clara Chappaz, who replaced the minister of Industry, on the future of the Belchamp site. This concern arose after the significant departure of executives from this Stellantis site in Doubs.
We see a lot of executives leaving and feedback from the field indicates upcoming departures from the Belchamp site.
Matthieu Bloch, deputy of the 3rd of Doubs (union of the rights)
Benoît Vernier, CFDT union representative at Stellantis Belchamp in Voujeaucourt, confirms the departure of many executives, but he wants to be reassuring. “It’s not just in Belchamp. In Poissy, more of them are leaving the company, a trend linked to the attractiveness of the Paris area.” The reason, according to him, comes from Carlos Tavares, the former boss of Stellantis. “He made the teams lead a hellish life, with unsustainable workloads, so much so that people gave up.” Then to detail: “Fewer executives are leaving than workers and technicians. Moreover, technicians are the most numerous to resign.” And to add:
There was a big wave of departures. In four months, in France, between 1,200 and 1,300 Stellantis employees left the company, whereas this is the figure we had for one year.
Benoît Vernier, CFDT union representative at Stellantis Belchamp
In 2023, the number of executives at national level at Stellantis was 10,132 compared to 11,177 in 2021. Technicians numbered 5,550 in 2023, compared to 7,250 in 2021.
Figures which confirm the MP’s fear. “The recognized excellence of the Sochaux site cannot operate independently of its research and development branch. Without this vector, the Sochaux factory would be just one assembly plant among many others and would thus be considerably weakened,” analyzes MP Matthieu Bloch.
On October 3, Carlos Tavares, former boss of Stellantis, came to visit the Sochaux factory in the presence of local elected officials and Matthieu Bloch. On this occasion, the deputy for Doubs questioned him about his concern linked to the numerous departures of Belchamp executives. During his speech at the session this Tuesday, January 21, Matthieu Bloch recalled this visit and reported the words of the former president of Stellantis.
I asked him about the sustainability of the 871 jobs at the Belchamp site. He told me he was as worried as I was about research and development in France.
Matthieu Bloch, deputy of the 3rd of Doubs (union of the rights)
In response, the delegate minister, Clara Chappaz, expressed herself as follows: “Stellantis confirmed to Marc Ferracci, [Editor’s note: Minister responsible for Industry and Energy], that Belchamp is a major site for the group. Research activity is sustained there and the group has indicated that it has no intention of reducing it, on the contrary.”
Be reassuring, but also realistic. The Minister Delegate thus reported that “French automotive research is all subject to strong international pressure, the competence of foreign engineers is increasingly recognized and development cycles are faster. Abroad, they can take up to 12 months to develop a new engine, compared to 36 months here in Europe. This is an undeniable factor against us.”
A third factor reinforces Matthieu Bloch’s concern: the rise in power of the Agnelli family in the governance of Stellantis, which leans towards centralizing the Research and Development branch in Turin.
At the time of the marriage between PSA and Chrysler, it was Fiat which was the sick man of Stellantis. However, as we see today, the Agnelli family now has a decisive influence in the direction of the group (…) hence my fear that all R&D will be moved to Turin to the detriment of Belchamp
Matthieu Bloch, deputy of the 3rd of Doubs (union of the rights)
Clara Chappaz, who replaced the Minister of Industry, responded that the government had questioned Stellantis on the subject, and that it appeared that the automobile group did not intend to close the latter, “on the contrary “, she insisted.
A response confirmed by the Stellantis group communications department: “There has never been the desire to refocus R&D activity in Italy. Sochaux Belchamp is the location of the STLA Medium and STLA Small platform teams, which shows the strategic interest of the Franche-Comté R and D teams.
Following the intervention of the delegate minister, Matthieu Bloch took the floor again, emphasizing that the departures of executives mentioned were not “false rumors” and that he “counted on the prudence and extreme vigilance of the government on this vital subject for the sustainability of the automobile industry in the Pays de Montbéliard”, especially “since we know neither his successor nor the intentions of the group”, concludes the deputy for Doubs.
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