“It’s not a surprise to us,” sighs a CFDT union delegate from the Forvia factory (formerly Faurecia), in Méru, where the first concerns had been expressed some time ago.
Last December, the union published a press release in which it discussed “staff numbers in decline since 2019” and fears for “the future of the site”.
This Monday, February 19, an announcement from the group which had more than 70,000 employees in Europe at the end of 2023 seems to confirm that these were justified: Forvia indicates that “10,000 jobs could be impacted” by 2028, a consequence of its recovery project economic.
1,200 employees in 2019, according to the unions
The Méru site specializes in automotive plastics processing.
They manufacture dashboards, glove boxes, and everything that is made of plastic in the car interior.
And even though the Forvia group is one of the world leaders in the sector, unions fear workforce reductions aimed at gradually ceasing activities.
On the Méru site, there are currently 968 people.
“There were more than 1,200 employees in 2019,” explains a union delegate.
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In a press release, the CFDT details the staff reduction since 2019: “155 voluntary departures, nine dismissals for economic reasons, 19 usual dismissals and 57 negotiated departures since that date.
» While it is difficult to determine the causes of each of these departures, reducing the workforce would jeopardize “the future of the site”, according to the unions.
The company, for its part, actually recognizes that 10,000 jobs “could be impacted” by the restructuring project, but is counting on “natural attrition” to mitigate the shock, that is to say, departures in retirement.
She also intends to “immediately and drastically reduce recruitment”.
A meeting with local management at the end of February
Since the publication of their press release last December, the unions claim to have received no response from their management.
For Baptiste Leroy, CFDT plastics union manager, “it is difficult to anticipate because there is a lack of transparency”.
Following these announcements, a meeting with those responsible for the Oisian site should however take place on February 28.
The unions intend to ask the CSE (Social and Economic Committee) to activate a right of economic alert, which had already been requested on December 1, 2023. Under this right, staff delegates could demand explanations. from their employer.
The latter would particularly like to talk about strategy, in a sector where contracts are signed with large automobile groups so that employees work on specific brands.
“However, there are car models for which we have not had a renewal,” explains a CFDT union representative.
According to the latter, employees could soon stop, for example, working on certain vehicles: end of the Renault Zoé in 2024, the Opel Mokka in 2026… “When it stops and it is not replaced, there are inevitably problems of overstaffing,” continues the union leader.
The management of the Méru site did not wish to respond directly to our requests.
However, the Forvia company specifies in its press release published Monday that it wishes to “minimize the impacts on employment as much as possible”.
An assertion which leaves the Oisian unions doubtful for the moment, the latter hoping to obtain answers at the upcoming meeting.