"
We have sometimes been had collectively,
" said Emmanuel Macron to former Whirlpool group in Amiens, whom he met Monday morning in a cafe in the city center, at the start of his on-site visit.
“
It shows that unfortunately goodwill is not enough.
We have sometimes been taken for fools.
We have sometimes been collectively
fooled, ”he told them, referring to the succession of bankruptcies of the buyers of this industrial site, to which he has visited several times since 2017, assuring each time that the site could restart.
Read alsoThe Stations of the Cross at the former Whirlpool factory in Amiens
“
The last year has been so difficult, we've been lied to so much.
I find it hard to talk about it, it was terrible,
”said a former employee, who has been converted to real estate.
Two years ago, the President of the Republic had exchanged with the former employees of the factory, who since 2017 have experienced three layoffs after the failures of the two buyers.
A political totem pole during the last presidential elections
Monday morning's meeting, with nine Whirlpool alumni including four ex-unionists, was unveiled on Twitter by François Ruffin, LFI deputy for the Somme.
"We
had to insist very hard
" for this meeting, said the deputy LFI on France Bleu Picardie.
"
There is an enormous weariness when you undergo three layoffs plans, when there are buyers three times and you are told three times
" It's the right one "
and you are laid off again: you end up in crumbs after an experience like this
, ”added François Ruffin.
Read also Jean-Pierre Robin: "LVMH in New York, Whirlpool in Amiens, conquering France ... and broken down"
"
Of the 278 initial employees, only 43 people remain to date for whom a solution must be found
," said the group's HRD.
191 have benefited from employment or training (124 permanent contracts, 41 fixed-term contracts, 20 business start-ups, 6 people in training) and 41 have retired or taken early retirement.
The Whirlpool tumble dryer factory closed permanently in June 2018. The first buyer WN was liquidated a year and a half later and the second, Ageco, had the same fate.
In 2017 in the between-towers, the factory had become a political totem, after a surprise duel on the spot between Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron, both promising to save jobs.
