Mexican Media Brands
PSA May Seek Pay Freeze, Job Cuts at French Plant
PSA Peugeot Citroen has asked workers at its van factory in Sevelnord, France, to agree to a three-year pay freeze, more flexible work rules and the elimination of several hundred jobs in exchange for a promise to keep the facility open, Reuters reports.
#workforcedevelopment
Share
PSA Peugeot Citroen has asked workers at its van factory in Sevelnord, France, to agree to a three-year pay freeze, more flexible work rules and the elimination of several hundred jobs in exchange for a promise to keep the facility open, Reuters reports.
The news service cites officials at two PSA unions who say the company is threatening to move production of the next-generation Peugeot Expert and Citroen Jump vans to a plant in Vigo, Spain. The labor leaders call the tactic "industrial blackmail" and suggest PSA aims to set a precedent at Sevelnord that workers elsewhere will be pressured to follow.
Analysts have opined that the van factory is vulnerable to closure because partner Fiat SpA plans to withdraw from the Sevelnord venture in 2017. PSA is reportedly seeking a new partner and is believed to be in talks with Toyota Motor Corp.
Separately, PSA denies an earlier Reuters report that the company intends to offer voluntary early retirement packages to a larger group of French workers than previously announced to meet its goal of eliminating 1,900 jobs in France. Reuters says only about 620 employees at Sevelnord have accepted buyouts.
The French job cuts are part of PSA's larger restructuring effort to cut €1 billion in costs and shed 6,000 employees in Europe this year. The job reduction total includes 2,500 positions at outside suppliers.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Shifting Landscape of Technology Is a Never-Ending Education
Brent Donaldson, Senior Editor, Modern Machine Shop and Additive Manufacturing Magazine discusses how the shifting landscape of technology that all of Gardner’s writers and editors cover is a never-ending education. If we are truly doing our jobs, we will never feel like we’ve mastered them. As I continue writing and reporting for AM and MMS, it’s easy to imagine how these technologies’ interdependency will continue to grow. It also seems clear that this kind of reporting — the kind that requires editors to experience and share new manufacturing technologies and strategies — is the kind of reporting that only Gardner can produce with any depth. I’m grateful to be part of it.
-
Ford Details Plans to Refurbish Detroit Train Station
Ford Motor Co. says the centerpiece for its new advanced-mobility campus in Detroit’s historic Corktown district will be the former Michigan Central train station.
-
GM Unit Stresses Driver Training in Autonomous Cars
General Motors Co.’s Cruise Automation unit says it puts backup drivers and auditors through extensive training before allowing them to participate in real-world autonomous vehicle tests.