PSA plant in Mulhouse
The Opel refurbishment causes uncertainty among the employees in France.
(Photo: AFP)
ParisDie Agreement between works council and managementg on one Rehabilitation plan of Opel causes anger in France, “The French workers are not allowed to pay the bill for the difficulties that management faces in the Integration of Opel “, criticizes the moderate union CFDT. There are already jobs from France after Germany been relocated.
The French factories are threatened with the loss of important skills, and the slide effect is not only related to research and development, but also to manufacturing. “If our concerns are not invalidated, that would change our attitude in principle,” threatens the CFDT leader Christine Virassamy.
Their union had so far supported the restructuring and cost-cutting programs of PSA boss Carlos Tavares and also the merger with Opel, Thanks to these changes, PSA has again become a highly profitable automaker.
The CFDT recalls the promises made by Tavares last year that the purchase of Opel will have no effect on French workers and employees. “But we are now concerned about the consequences of research and development (R & D) and production schedules,” said Virassamy Handelsblatt. At Opel in Germany, 15 competence centers for R + D are to be located, plus the development of new engines.
Current club events
Tuesday, 05.06.18, 12:30 Berlin: Curry & Politics
Thursday, 07.06.18, 17:00 Ludwigsburg: IT meets art
Thursday, 07.06.18, 18:30 Düsseldorf: Goldschmiedeabend at Wellendorff
Thursday, 07.06.18 Dusseldorf: WHU – Mergers & Acquisitions in Practice Program
Thursday, 07.06.18 Berlin: WHU – Design Thinking Program
Monday, 04.06.18, 16:00 Bonn: Handelsblatt Annual Conference Digital Energy Industry
Comment: Opel is saved – but the brand is badly damaged
In the production plans, it is decided which models are distributed in which quantities to the individual plants. According to the CFDT, there is already a shift in capacity: “The Rennes plant will be part of the 5008 production (a big one) Peugeot-SUV) to Sochaux, and from there the Grandland X to Eisenach, “says Virassamy.
Tavares has introduced the principle that sites are built on capacity and investment based on their productivity. For a long time, the French unions have been considered to be on strike for a long time, but the picture has changed radically. The workforce at the Rennes plant, for example, has made sacrifices under a company agreement: wages have been frozen for three years, and the workforce is giving up holidays that it says are in the pay scale.
“That’s why we’ve increased production from 90,000 to 150,000 units,” says the unionist. The factory in Brittany is now working on the attack: in three shifts plus a special shift for the weekend.
The new production plans will be defined over the next four years, when Opel-Vauxhall is said to have achieved the given profit margin of two percent of sales. “Then the cake is split among all: Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall,” says Virassamy.
This is another reason why people in France are very interested in working together with the German trade unions. A first meeting with IG Metall took place on May 5th in Brussels. However, it is still unclear whether Opel-Vauxhall’s employee representatives will take part in PSA’s European Works Council, what they are entitled to and what the CFDT wants – or whether they limit themselves to Opel-Vauxhall’s own Euro Works Council, which is also possible ,
The union CFDT, which relies on intensive social dialogue, hopes to strengthen its own line by IG Metall. At a PSA Board meeting on Thursday and Friday, PSA managers pledged to provide more accurate information on the future division of centers of excellence.
*/
]]>
The most important news every morning in your inbox.