No glasses, no vases, no jewelry. No crystal item has been manufactured since March 16 in the workshops of Baccarat (Meurthe-et-Moselle) due to the epidemic of coronavirus. Almost all of the 520 employees are on partial unemployment until April 26. "Hot production and cold production are affected because of the health context," said Eric Rogue, secretary of the works council.
For this flagship of French luxury with 255 years of history, this is unprecedented. However, in this heavy industry, the raw material is still in fusion. “There is a continuous flow in the ovens. It's like big boilers. If we stop feeding them, they dry up and it's catastrophic for the refractory bricks. It is worth several million euros… ”Only a maintenance team remains in place to monitor the temperatures. "These are appropriate measures. The period may seem long, but this avoids repeating announcements every week, ”continues Eric Rogue.
"The stocks are important, it will cushion the shock"
The Baccarat crystal factory generates two thirds of its turnover outside Europe, mainly in Asia. This stoppage of production will inevitably affect the result at the end of the year according to Didier Guyot, chartered accountant mandated by the inter-union, who believes that "stocks are important, this will cushion the shock. On the other hand, there is an overall depressive effect, customers are less eager to buy crystal pieces and then, many stores are closed. Management did not respond to our requests.