The Foundry of Brittany (FDB), the factory which belongs to the Renault group and which is located in Caudan, in Morbihan, will not close, announced the management and the CGT Friday after an extraordinary CSE in Lorient . Almost 400 jobs were at risk. "No closure of FDB, no plan to take over FDB!" Launched Mael Le Goff, representative of the CGT, to employees who were sometimes in tears.
"I can confirm that the foundry will not close," also said Laurent Galmard, CEO of FDB, while Renault presented a three-year savings plan providing for the loss of around 15,000 jobs worldwide, including 4,600 in France.
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"It's a victory but not a final victory"
After Mael Le Goff's speech, several CGT employees and activists chanted "we won! We won!" in front of the gates of the sub-prefecture. "This week was a week of struggle! Now the hardest part remains to be done, a project to build, we all know that the car market is going crazy, we will have to find something to diversify", launched the representative of the CGT.
"It is a reprieve, we are aware of it. It is a victory but not a final victory. We know that at Renault and in the automotive world nothing is taken for granted", he added, indicating that production would resume "next week". Access to the factory had been blocked since Monday by the strikers.
Launch of a "strategic study" on the FDB
The site manager also indicated that a "strategic study" on the FDB was to be launched. "We are going to look at all the castable parts for the automobile market, in the broadest sense of the term, agricultural machinery, the big truck, the bus ... We are not closed to an exploration of diversification of new markets, it is the necessary condition to make the foundry of Brittany profitable ", added Laurent Galmard. According to the CGT, the FDB delivers 95% of its parts to Renault and 5% to BMW.
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The president of the Brittany region Loïg Chesnais-Girard (PS) welcomed this announcement on twitter. "I had this morning Jean-Dominique Sénard, CEO of #Renault. I confirm that the announcement this morning gives time, let's take advantage of it to build a future together at Fonderie de #Bretagne. Without collective mobilization we we wouldn’t be there, "he said.
Several Breton politicians have written a letter to the Prime Minister, considering it "unacceptable" to close or sell the factory. Established since 1965 in Caudan, the Foundry of Brittany, taken over in 2009 by Renault, produces raw and machined foundry parts for the automotive industry.