The Smart factory in Hambach in Moselle.
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FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP
The inter-union of the Smart site in Hambach (Moselle) announced on Wednesday that it was calling for a strike every Saturday in September "until the obtaining of unalterable guarantees in terms of employment and remuneration" within the framework of the project sale of the site by Daimler to the Ineos group.
"The sale of the site could, if the conditions are not met by Daimler or by the possible buyer Inéos, have significant repercussions in terms of jobs, but also in terms of remuneration and sustainability" of the site, warns a leaflet distributed to employees.
Daimler restructures its network
The inter-union (CGT, CFE-CGC, CFDT, CFTC and FO) of the site, which employs 1,600 people including 700 subcontractors, "asks for fair and transparent negotiations, where nothing will be hidden from Daimler or from Ineos, ”she continues.
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British industrialist Ineos has entered into negotiations with the Daimler group to acquire the manufacturing site of the Smart that the German manufacturer announced to sell in early July as part of a restructuring of its network, due to financial difficulties linked to the epidemic of Covid-19.
Ineos does not intend to keep all the jobs
Ineos, which wants to manufacture its future 4X4 Grenadier there, said in August he was "confident" about a possible agreement with Daimler, owner of the Mercedes and Smart brands.
The British group, which belongs to billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, considers the Moselle site as "a great solution" for the construction of its thermal vehicle with "a very experienced team and a very good history of quality".
The sale of the site, the historic cradle of the Smart and which has only produced electric models since last year, is closely monitored by the French Ministry of the Economy.
The Minister for Industry Agnès Pannier-Runacher, who went to Hambach at the end of July, reminded the director general of Daimler at the beginning of August "the government's demands on the preservation of 1,600 jobs" at the site, Bercy had indicated.
As the Ineos project does not allow all jobs to be maintained, the ministry is studying the possibilities of supplementing it, for example by manufacturing parts for Daimler.
A recovery plan should be finalized by the end of the fall.
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