For several days, the Stellantis factory in Sochaux (Doubs) has been facing problems with the logistics and delivery of its vehicles. Several thousand cars are waiting to be shipped and the parking lots are full. Unions and employees fear a bottleneck in the production chain.
If the expedition car parks are congested at Stellantis Sochaux, one of the reasons is the shortage of drivers. Every day 1,100 cars are produced on average in the Doubs factory, mainly Peugeot 3008 and 5008, which, as the days go by, saturate the car parks a little more.
We already had supplier problem now it’s shipping problem.
Jean-Luc Ternet, CFTC union representative
For Éric Peultier, Force Ouvrière (FO) union representative, such a situation is unheard of.
30 years that I am in the box, I have never seen car parks like that, filled with vehicles. Never.
Éric Peultier-union delegate FO-Stellantis Sochaux
The trade unionist is worried about the fate of the employees. Will they be impacted? Especially since he knows that at the end of the year the company could be inflicted with tax on stocks.
For its part, the management of the site says it is reviewing its commitments with its exclusive carrier: Gefco in favor of a new organization calling on more diversified players for the sake of performance. In future, dealers could charge their vehicles directly.
In a press release sent on November 21, the management of the Stellantis group specifies:
“We are in a transitional phase made complicated by the current very tense context in the field of transport, which affects all manufacturers. There is indeed a lack of drivers in Europe, as well as port congestion. Our priority remains obviously the satisfaction of customers who expect our vehicles.”
All French factories and all manufacturers are affected by this phenomenon. It is accentuated within the Doubs plant because the site is a hub for the distribution of Peugeot, Opel and Citroën vehicles from other European plants.
Staff representatives fear that this situation will turn against employees. Partial activity, technical unemployment are not on the agenda, especially since the Stellantis factory could soon move 3,000 vehicles to a disused area near Lure in Haute-Saône.
In the meantime, production continues.
With AFP