Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy.

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S. Loeb / AFP

Citing the example of the American General Electric, which plans to restructure certain activities in Europe, the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, denounced this Thursday the “windfall” social plans announced or envisaged by certain companies .

“There are difficulties and that can lead to certain decisions, but certainly not windfall decisions.

And things must be clear ”between General Electric and the French government, said Bruno Le Maire during a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee.

Social plans "not essential"

"There are social plans that are necessary because they will allow a business to rebound, (...) and then there are other social plans which are social plans of windfall", he said. judge.

"These windfall social plans are not acceptable and we will not let them pass," he warned, adding that the Ministry of the Economy will use "all means" at its disposal "to refuse these social plans windfall ”.

"The economic crisis must lead everyone to show a sense of responsibility and not to take advantage of the situation to initiate social plans that would not be essential for the company to bounce back", Bruno Le Maire insisted.

Over 750 job cuts at GE

He thus cited the restructuring project announced Wednesday by General Electric, which targets its activities of renewable energies and electricity networks in Europe, and in particular in France.

If the group has not yet detailed the impact on employment of its decision, it could result in the loss of more than 750 jobs according to union sources.

The mayor of Belfort, where General Electric is very present, also mentioned the loss of 89 jobs in his city.

"For example, I see a certain number of proposals emerging in Belfort, at General Electric, which do not seem to me all to correspond to the commitments made by GE", in 2014, when the group took over Alstom Energie. American, and 2019 as part of a social plan, said Bruno Le Maire.

"We will ensure that GE respects its commitments," he said, indicating that he would speak soon to the CEO of the American group, Larry Culp.

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