Lille (AFP)
The president of the Hauts-de-France region, Xavier Bertrand (ex-LR), and two local elected officials on Thursday qualified as "completely incomprehensible" the decision to close two metallurgical sites of the American group NOV in the North.
"The brutal announcement by the American group NOV (National Oilwell Varco) of the closure of its two French sites of Aulnoye-Aymeries (ex-Vallourec Drilling) and Berlaimont, which employ 129 people, is completely incomprehensible. that NOV had bought the Vallourec d'Aulnoye-Aymeries site less than two years ago ", write the three elected officials in a letter to the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire sent to the press.
In addition to Xavier Betrand, Benjamin Saint-Huile, PS president of the Maubeuge-Val de Sambre agglomeration community, and Bernard Baudoux, PCF mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries, signed this letter in which they believe that "beyond the economic catastrophe and the social tragedy which result from this decision, several questions arise. "
"How did the Vallourec group, whose state is the largest shareholder, sell a company in April 2018, the closure of which is announced today? Why does an American group make two acquisitions in Hauts-de-France to get separate two years later? "question the three political leaders.
The three elected officials also asked for "a meeting on the spot, with all the stakeholders, to make a precise point on the conditions of the sale of 2018, and the reasons for the closure of the sites".
In a press release, the American group spoke of a "difficult context" marked by "an uncertain market environment" where "French drilling rod production activities continue to encounter significant economic difficulties despite the numerous initiatives undertaken to try to reduce their costs, improve their competitiveness and boost their growth. "
"We must react without delay and make difficult decisions to resolve the situation of structural overcapacity in which we find ourselves and ensure the sustainability of our activities," said NOV President Grant Prideco, R. Brett Chandler, in this release.
Vallourec, specialist in seamless tubes, had sold in 2018 its drilling products activity, loss-making, to NOV, specialist in petroleum services, for 63 million euros.
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