The historic glass giant is in trouble again.
The northern company Arc placed part of its employees on short-time working on Thursday due to the rise in the prices of raw materials and energy, attributed to the war in Ukraine, we learned from the management and unions.
It is "two days a week of partial activity" for "1,600 people from September 1 until December" at least, explained to AFP the director of communication of the company, Guillaume Rabel-Suquet.
The staff affected by this measure will continue to be paid 84% of their net salary.
Collapse of the order book
Despite "a very good" first half in 2022, the group says it is affected by "the crisis in Ukraine", explained Guillaume Rabel-Suquet.
However, customers are “much more sensitive” to selling prices, on which these increases are passed on, he continued.
It is a "big slap for the staff who expected rather, in view of inflation, to have a salary increase", underlined to AFP Frédéric Specque, central CGT delegate.
“The order book was loaded in the first half, but it is collapsing, he underlined.
Today no one wants to buy crockery, glassware.
People rather put their money on the heating that they will pay for this winter, the diesel that they will put in their car.
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The State has granted a total of 128.5 million euros in loans since 2020 to support the Arc group.
The latest loan, of 18.5 million euros, was granted in June.
Based near Saint-Omer, in Pas-de-Calais, the group employs some 7,800 people, including 5,000 in France.
It markets its products under five main brands: Luminarc, Arcopal, Cristal d'Arques Paris, Arcoroc and Chef & Sommelier.
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Lille
Hauts-de-France
Glass
Rise
energy
War in Ukraine
Raw materials
Unemployment