2023-05-05 16:44:55
“Clearly, we fear the closure”. Philippe Lihouck, CGT union representative, admits to being very worried. The Chinese industrial group, MA Steel, the sole shareholder of the last French manufacturer of train wheels and axles, Valdunes, has announced that it “would no longer inject money” into the company, we learned. Friday, with the management of the equipment manufacturer and the CGT, confirming information from France 3.
“MG Valdunes held a general meeting on Thursday in the presence of its sole partner MA Steel, who announced that he was no longer going to put money into the company,” Daniel Cappelle, director of the two companies, told AFP. French sites located in Leffrinckoucke and Trith-Saint-Léger, in the North, where 336 people are employed.
“We must protect jobs in our territories”
The employees of the two sites went on strike for an “unlimited” period in order to protest against this announcement, Philippe Lihouck told AFP, saying that production was stopped. “Employees do not know what will become of them, the situation is still unclear. Resale? Legal redress ? Clearance? We don’t know yet,” he said. A meeting between the management of Valdunes and the Ministry of Industry is scheduled for May 17, said Daniel Cappelle, after a CSE on Friday.
“We hear about national sovereignty every day. Relocating or buying train wheels abroad (as SNCF does) is unacceptable. We must protect jobs in our territories”, reacted, on Facebook, Marine Tondelier, local elected representative and national secretary of Europe Ecologie-Les Verts.
The Chinese industrial group MA Steel was chosen in 2014 by the Commercial Court of Valenciennes to take over the activities of Valdunes, then in receivership.
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