topics
tools
Expatica countries
Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2280.22 -0.26
DAX 6748.76 -0.08
IBEX 30 8849.3 0.03
CAC 40 3410 -0.05
FTSE 100 5875.93 -0.24
AEX 325.33 -0.20
DJIA 12883.95 0.04
Nasdaq 2915.86 0.41
FTSE MIB 16669.22 1.08
TSX Composite 12521.02 0.07
ASX 4363.7 0.43
Hang seng 21018.46 1.54
Straits Times 2982.2 0.83
ISEQ 20 502.05 -0.58
You are here: Home News French News France slams 'scandalous' Total job cuts

French News

archive
Enlarge font Decrease font Text size


11/03/2009France slams 'scandalous' Total job cuts

Despite posting the highest annual profit, the oil giant announces it will shed 550 jobs.

PARIS – France on Tuesday attacked the "scandalous" behaviour of its biggest company, oil giant Total, after it said it would slash jobs despite reaping the highest annual profit in French corporate history.

"That a group like Total, which made billions in profits, isn't able to set an example in terms of employment at a time like this sticks in my throat," said Employment Minister Laurent Wauquiez.

"They'd be well advised to change their behaviour quickly," warned Wauquiez, who said the move by Total was "scandalous" but did not elaborate on how the government might make the company change its mind.

Total's announcement that it would shed around 550 jobs came just days after the unemployment rate here rose again to 8.2 percent, with 2.2 million people out of work.

Last week the government predicted that the global crisis would scalp a further 350,000 French private sector jobs this year, as the economy was expected to contract by up to two percent in its worst recession since 1975.

President Nicolas Sarkozy has responded to the economic crisis with a huge spending programme, but the stimulus package has so far failed to stem job losses.

Three hundred jobs are to go in Total's petrochemical arm and around 250 in its refineries, union officials were told at a specially convened meeting with management.

Philippe Goebel, managing director of Total Petrochemicals France, told AFP the posts would go at the subsidiary's French plants, offices and research centres.

He said the job cuts were a result of overcapacity in world petrochemical production and promised that the firm would create 100 new jobs in a partnership deal with GDF-Suez to produce solar panels.

Goebel insisted that there would be no compulsory redundancies and most would be through retirements.

But, coming less than a month after the Total parent company said it had made a French record profit of EUR 13.9 billion in 2008, the announcement angered both the government and unions.

Aldo Scalzo of the CGT union accused bosses of leaving French "industry on the scrapheap".

Workers at Total's Gonfreville l'Orcher refinery on France's north coast held a protest outside the plant after the job cuts were announced.

"Total says it makes 90 percent of its profits abroad, but it should not forget where it comes from and what it owes to France," said one protestor.

France has not been hit as badly as many of its neighbours by the global crisis, but the president has faced pressure to do more to safeguard jobs.

More than a million French workers took to the streets in January to voice anger and fear of job losses during a one-day strike over Sarkozy's handling of the economic crisis.

A further day of strikes and protest action is scheduled for March.

AFP / Expatica


0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment

General rating: Not rated yet

Rate article:    Add my rating


0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment
Discussion Forums

Immigration and Legal Problems

Blocked Sewer Line outside property boundary - who pays ?

Sporting Events in France

Counter Strike!

Community Noticeboard France | Expat Events

migration to belgium!

Americans in France

Expatriate Events in Paris

Personal Finance in France

In Need of An Auto Loan

participate in the forums

Inside Expatica
Management culture in France

Management culture in France

This handy guide from Expertise in Labour Mobility includes information on business hierarchy, negotiations, and etiquette.

American associations and clubs in Paris

American associations and clubs in Paris

A listing of organizations in the Paris area that cater primarily to Americans living in France. Updated April 2011.

British associations and clubs in Paris

British associations and clubs in Paris

Our handy guide to the British community in Paris, from cricket clubs to Scottish country dancing lessons to where to find a jar of Marmite.

Anglophone services in France

Anglophone services in France

Here's a short introduction to our Banking section for those living in France, from how to open a bank account to Islamic banking and investments.