Bridgestone will have to "respect [er] the given word", hammered Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Monday, in front of unions and local elected officials.
All were gathered for a crisis meeting after the announcement last Wednesday of the closure of the Béthune site, in Pas-de-Calais.
"The management
told us very expressly that it was ready to open alternative scenarios" in
order to
"save"
the 863 direct jobs threatened, assured the Minister of Industry.
But does the government have the means to force the Japanese tire giant to honor its commitments?
Read also: Bridgestone plant shutdown: a headache for the state
The minister has in any case used an unusual means in France to influence the choices of the Japanese group.
She recalled in front of the cameras that Speedy, the automotive maintenance and repair brand well known to consumers, has been owned by Bridgestone since 2016.
“
The 'reputational' element must not be lost sight of
, she warned.
Bridgestone also has a personal business, which is Speedy.
I believe that everyone will look with precision at the way this group behaves.
"
Could consumers, in solidarity with Bridgestone employees, “sanction” the tire manufacturer by no longer visiting its subsidiary Speedy?
Nothing is less certain, assures
Figaro
Jean-Pierre Corniou, specialist in the automotive industry.
"The consumer is not nationalist to the point of sulking one of the first maintenance brands like Speedy in order to punish Bridgestone"
.
Read also: Closure of Bridgestone in Béthune: local elected officials and the executive toughen up
According to him, it is the quality / price ratio that takes precedence in his choice:
“Whatever the opinion of the government, the influencers, the buyer will try to optimize his own gain.
This idea of punishing in the name of the brand and the flag is very archaic and does not respond to the reality of economic life, ”he says
.
"We try to transform a productive question into a consumerist question but it does not work"
, abounds Bernard Jullien, lecturer in economics at the University of Bordeaux and specialist in the automotive industry.
He thus takes the example of Volkswagen, which the “dieselgate” scandal in 2015 did not prevent it and its other brands
from “maintaining a good image”
with consumers.
"A gesture that reflects helplessness"
Jean-Pierre Corniou goes even further.
For the partner of consulting firm Sia Partners is even a
"mistake"
that
"finger pointing a company needed to negotiate a plan to safeguard employment."
A fault that could
"anger the Japanese side"
and penalize other players such as the French number 1 in Michelin tires, victim in return of possible smear campaigns from other countries.
“We are in a globalized economy and punishing a tire manufacturer does not make much sense.
It is a gesture which reflects an impotence,
concludes Jean-Pierre Corniou.
On the side of the Minister's office, without mentioning pressure tactics, it is explained that, Bridgestone having
"spoken of possibilities for reclassification in its other activities, beyond the issues of reputation, it is normal to name them"
.
Contacted, Speedy did not wish to speak on this subject.