Relocation: Electrolux is about to desert the Ardennes

The announcement of the relocation of the plant washing machine high-end Revin (Ardennes) to Poland imperils some 700 jobs by the unions. The company management has refused to comment…

Reportage Isabelle Labeyrie (2'5 ")

Having retained the factory director of Electrolux Revin (Ardennes) yesterday into the evening, the unions have obtained the holding of a central council extraordinary March 13 next year, announced the CFE-CGC. This should allow CEC to know a little more about the proposed relocation to Poland of production of washing machines upmarket. A project which, according to the CFE-CGC, imperils the medium-term 700 jobs site Ardennes.

However, the announcement that the company management do not wish to comment at this time, would be "contrary to the submission made in September 2007 on a voyage of trade unionists in Poland. At the time, the leadership called "reverse an industrial strategy, namely the production of washing machines in low-end and Poland upmarket in France," says the union.

Meanwhile, the unions are honing their arguments: Polish plant, whose construction has required 21 million euros of investments, would "not achieve the expected profitability." For while the workforce is actually cheaper, lower productivity levels as well. And the exchange rate with the euro also becomes less interesting.

Electrolux has approximately 1,500 employees in France, half of them at headquarters Senlis (Oise). Earlier this month, the group published a net gain in steep decline for its fiscal 2007, restructuring costs have weighed heavily on the outcome of the fourth quarter.

In 2005, many factories Electrolux in Europe, threatened by relocation, had come to strike.