Bridgestone Béthune plant threatened with closure -

AFP

  • 1,500 people marched this Sunday morning in the streets of Béthune to demand the maintenance of the Bridgestone factory.

  • 863 employees have been threatened with losing their jobs since the announcement in mid-September by the management of the Japanese tire manufacturer of the closure of the northern plant.

Walk to avoid disaster.

Nearly 1,500 people, Bridgestone employees and their families, elected officials and residents of Béthune (Pas-de-Calais) took part in a “silent march” on Sunday in the hope of seeing the Japanese giant reconsider its decision to close its factory of tires.

"It's a silent march to show the sadness of Béthune," explains Stéphane Lesix (CFDT), secretary of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE).

“We want to keep Béthune, the first idea is to keep Béthune, but we are preparing for everything”.

The demonstration, co-organized by the mayor Olivier Gacquerre (UDI) and the intersyndicale, left around 10 am from the industrial site where a team was working, and linked the town hall under a few drops of rain.

Without a union flag and without a slogan.

Nearly 1,500 people march in peace in Béthune in support of the Bridgestones pic.twitter.com/m3WsFjkMwJ

- Pierre Beauvillain (@beauvillainp) October 4, 2020

"It's difficult, morale is at its lowest"

"No to the closure of Bridgestone, solidarity with the employees", could we read on one of the banners at the head of the procession carried by children, the elected officials with tricolor sashes behind them.

"It's difficult, morale is at its lowest" at work, reports Olivier, 28 years at Bridgestone, who still hopes that the plant will not close.

Marie, 38, came with her children "out of solidarity", she does not "have any illusions" about the fate of the site which has employed her husband for 12 years, but wants to show that we are there, " Nevertheless ".

Walk in support of #Bridgestone # Béthune.


Here as elsewhere in our region, the working class is dying in silence.

pic.twitter.com/nAfdTFEkCo

- Sarah Kerrich (@Sarah_Kerrich) October 4, 2020

863 jobs threatened

In mid-September, Bridgestone had suddenly announced the "final cessation" of the activity of the site, which employs more than 860 people, by 2021, citing an overcapacity of production in Europe and competition from low-cost Asian brands.

On September 21, a meeting was held on site with the ministers of labor and industry, the group's management and local elected officials.

The Minister for Industry, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, had declared that the leaders of Bridgestone had said "to examine a certain number of scenarios", which the government intended "to cross-assess".

The ministers, elected officials and the European management of the Japanese tire giant were to meet again "in two to three weeks" in order to "review the different scenarios, which are alternative scenarios to a site closure", according to the minister.

A first PES negotiation meeting on Tuesday

The management of Bridgestone had indicated that the closure of the Béthune site was "the only option" but also that it was considering "alternative projects for reconversion of the site, with and without Bridgestone".

The first negotiation meeting for the job protection plan (PSE), which is to last five months, will take place on Tuesday.

In the Béthune-Bruay employment area - around 100 municipalities and 280,000 inhabitants - the Bridgestone factory, inaugurated in 1961, is one of the largest employers, behind PSA and Roquette.

Lille

Bridgestone: The inter-union calls for a big march on Sunday to support employees

Economy

Bridgestone: Why the management of the Béthune plant crispe elected officials and employees

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