They fear a “
social break-up
”.
Suez employees - 90,000 worldwide, including 30,000 in France - are called to stop work for two hours this Tuesday, September 8, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
At the call of all the unions in the group, this action aims to mark their "
determination to fight against the proposed takeover bid
" of competitor Veolia, according to a press release published last Friday.
"
The fear of social breakdown is very present among the employees
", explained on BFM Business, Mikael Henneton, member of the CFDT coordination of Suez, estimating that "
several thousand jobs
" are threatened in the group, in the sectors water, and waste.
“
We are on an extremely hostile takeover bid.
"This action,"
today, is a rejection of the choice of the worst
".
It is "
a warning for the future,
" he added.
Defending “
healthy competition
”, he believes that “
for employees and industrial customers or communities
”, this buyout would be “
a big loss
”.
Veolia wants to buy out its historical competitor Suez, starting with the acquisition of most of the shares held by Engie, which has received an offer of 2.9 billion euros valid until September 30.
If this takeover materializes, Veolia plans to then launch a takeover bid on the rest of the shares.
Building the "world champion of ecological transformation"
Last Sunday, Veolia CEO Antoine Frérot announced an offer to buy back most of its shares (29.9%) in Suez to Engie for 2.9 billion euros.
It is supposed to be followed, in a second step, by a takeover bid on the rest of the shares.
Its ambition is to build the "
world champion of ecological transformation
", a French giant weighing more than 40 billion euros.
The president of Engie Jean-Pierre Clamadieu called on Veolia to review the content of his project and said he was ready to study an alternative plan that Suez management could present to him, while calling on the two parties to “
dialogue
”.
