It was presented as the factory of the future 4.0, “a project anchored in Toulouse” ensured in May 2018, during its inauguration, the Latécoère group. The anchorage will have lasted five years. The aeronautical subcontractor has in fact just announced that it plans to relocate to the Czech Republic and Mexico, to low-cost sites, the activities of its Toulouse-Montredon plant, which manufactures parts used in the assembly of doors of the Boeing 787. According to the equipment manufacturer, it is the drop in production of the long-haul of the American aircraft manufacturer which is at the origin of this decision, as well as the health crisis.
An announcement that set fire to the powder. First him among the unions who denounced a “relocation which will impact 100% of the workforce, except the director, or 109 people”, indicates the CGT. And like a game of musical chairs, certain Latécoère activities present in Colomiers and Labège, in the Toulouse conurbation, will be repatriated to the Montredon plant.
An implementation of this plan which should be done by the end of 2024. According to the management of the company, the 109 employees concerned will be offered a reclassification allowing them to remain in the company.
Aid from Europe and the State
But this announcement has far from gone unanswered from politicians. “I need someone to explain to me exactly what is happening because, at this stage, I am a little surprised. I hear that there are plans (for relocation), I would like someone to explain to me. We can, perhaps, find other plans”, reacted the Minister of Industry, Roland Lescure, at the microphone of Sud Radio, specifying that he had “not been warned before”.
And he is not the only one to have criticized the method. “I totally disagree with the group’s industrial strategy. The company founded by Pierre-Georges Latécoère is a symbol of Toulouse aeronautics and a flagship of French industry. However, since the arrival of new shareholders in 2019, no prospect of offensive development of the sites in Occitania is given, despite the significant public aid which has been allocated by the State and the European Union. This goes against the policy of industrial sovereignty that our country must build and that I defend at the head of the Occitanie Region and Regions of France ”, criticized the president of the Occitanie region, Carole Delga.
The equipment manufacturer was acquired in 2019 by the American fund Searlight Capital Partners and saw its activity shrink by almost half during the health crisis. Its turnover stood at 376 million euros in 2021 and the group has since sought to reach “critical size” and exceed 800 million euros in turnover by 2027. Worldwide, at the end of 2021, it employed more than 4,760 people, including 1,385 in France.