Real hope, but a lot of bitterness. A new page will soon open for the TE-Connectivity company in Allonnes, near Le Mans. Two years after the announcement of a social plan, the Sarthois site specializing in the manufacture of connectors for the railway industry and oil platforms, is in the process of being sold. The disposal project was announced to employees, according to information collected by France Bleu Maine.
At the end of January 2021, 75 employees remain employed on permanent contracts (in the design office and in the “high power offshore” part of the company, the only activity among three maintained in Sarthe). 87 employees were made redundant, as part of the Employment Protection Plan (PSE) of June 2019. Among them, about twenty were rehired on permanent contracts (CDD) to deal with more activity than expected.
An a priori positive
The identity of the buyer of TE-Connectivity in Allonnes remains, at this stage, secret as well as the date on which the sale would be effective but the group in question seems to inspire confidence in employees, car “he wants a sustainable business”, Some of them explain. “We have every interest in this sale being made and that this project is viable. It’s an opportunity to secure jobs”, Comments for its part the CGT union of the company. “We hope that all positions will be maintained. But the social climate will be tense”, Explain other employees.
Restore confidence
Obviously, the buyer will have to focus on boost employee morale and heal wounds that are still very serious after two difficult years. The current owner “left us for dead”, Summarize the employees. “The group gives in to us without even providing any social guarantee as to our future.”, They say. “Humanly and mentally, it will be complicated”, Advances the CGT. “It has been two years since the group walks us. Employees will not be satisfied with promises “, adds the union.
A virtual dismantling before the sale?
Some employees recall that the American owner of TE-Connectivity announces his plan to sell after having “dismantled almost all of the machining service and a good part of the quality services, outsourced payroll and accounting, canceled the offshore order book, and removed our customers from our sales representatives”. As if he had organized this “almost empty shell” before the sale while “normally, an activity is sold as it is; we do not dismantle it before selling”, Remarks an employee. According to employees, the current owner of TE-Connectivity would thus separate from the factory “without having to apply the legal obligations resulting from the Company Safeguard Plan signed in June 2019 “.
–
