The project, announced Tuesday to employees, "is at the same time industrial, organizational and social" and aims to maintain the competitiveness of the site that produces Vittel, Hepar and Contrex waters, and is "in an extremely competitive segment of still water," said AFP a spokeswoman for the group.

It would "lead to the reconfiguration of our production lines" of Vittel-Contrexéville, where 721 people currently work, "with a net impact of 171 job cuts by the end of the year," she added.

With this social plan, the workforce should reach 550, a historically low level. According to a former shop steward, 2,100 employees were still working at the factory in 2005. "Since then, between modernization of production and decline in production volumes, it has not stopped decreasing," he said.

"Stroke of the penknife"

"This is very bad news for the territory and for Vittel in the broad sense of the term," responded to AFP Franck Perry, the LR mayor of Vittel, evoking "a blow of the penknife (...) to the attractiveness of our territory".

According to the spokeswoman for Nestlé Waters, this reorganization project "is essentially motivated by the decision taken in 2022 to stop marketing Vittel in Germany", which has led to "a significant decrease in production volumes" in the Vosges.

A sign reading "Source Hépar" in the eponymous pavilion in the thermal gallery of Vittel, in the Vosges, May 10, 2023 © JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN / AFP/Archives

Another difficulty facing the ore carrier is "climatic conditions", which affect the conditions of exploitation of the waters of some boreholes, she continued.

At the beginning of May, due to the vagaries of the weather, Nestlé Waters announced the indefinite suspension of two of the six boreholes at its Vosges site dedicated to Hépar water. Added to the halt in sales across the Rhine, this suspension has mechanically "amplified a little more the decline in volumes produced on the site," explained the spokeswoman.

According to the daily Vosges Matin, these two boreholes alone represent "60% of the production" of Hépar water, known for its high magnesium content.

"Our priority (...) is above all" to accompany employees "throughout the process" and Nestlé Waters "will make every effort to minimize the social consequences of this project," insisted the spokeswoman.

In particular, the company intends to limit "as much as possible forced departures" and will offer "end-of-career development solutions" and "internal mobility", she said.

"Minimizing the impact"

"We are aware of our major role (...) in the region. We will continue to be involved in the economic and social fabric, in collaboration with local authorities to minimize the impact on the employment area," she continued, referring to a "revitalization program" of which she did not immediately give details.

On an assembly line at the Nestlé Waters factory on July 19, 2010 in Vittel, Vosges © Jean-Christophe VERHAEGEN / AFP/Archives

Nestlé Waters has the "will to ensure a future" at the Vosges site "by identifying the best development opportunities for our brands" and by pursuing the "commitments in terms of environmental protection and preservation of water resources", said the spokesperson of the group, a major provider of jobs locally but also much criticized for its impact on water reserves in the sector.

"We are for the preservation of groundwater and for ecology, but we must find a balance with economic activity and this balance has been undermined by ideologues," denounced Franck Perry, pointing to the report in July 2021 of the parliamentary inquiry chaired by LFI MP Mathilde Panot on "the stranglehold on water resources by private interests and its consequences".

"A policy of undermining" which, according to him, has "spread in Germany" and has caused sales of Vittel water to fall.

© 2023 AFP