The proximity of the deadlines crystallizes the tensions. Thursday, March 17, a clash took place at the Ferropem factory in Château-Feuillet (Savoie): workers damaged offices and set fire to mobile equipment. “A negotiation was to take place in Chambéry between the staff representatives and the management”, indicates Mustapha Haddou, CGT union representative. The management did not want to address certain points during the discussion which was cut short.
1is next April, the Job Protection Plan (PSE) will be completed for the 221 employees at the site and the 5 at the Chambéry head office. The Ministry of the Economy is also trying to act before the deadline: a letter from Agnès Pannier-Runacher sent in recent days asks the Hispano-American group Ferroglobe, which owns the factory, to reconsider its position. A meeting is to be held on Tuesday 22 between Bercy and the leaders.
2,000 euros per ton
The closure of Château-Feuillet comes as silicon prices have soared: “The ton, which was trading at 2,000 dollars, peaked at 8,000, indicates Mustapha Haddou. We are still around 4,000. Consequence: an excellent fourth quarter of 2021 for the Ferroglobe group, whose overall turnover of 1.8 billion in 2021 returns to the level of 2018.
A report requested by the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) points out that “quarterly Ebitda literally exploded in the fourth quarter of 2021” with 92 million dollars, an absolute record for the group. The first results for 2022 are also excellent, enough to contradict the economic justification of the PSE, according to Bercy. The government is following the case closely, in particular because the plant manufactures silico-calcium (CaSi) which has been subject to a European anti-dumping barrier with China since October.
The first results for 2022 are also excellent, enough to contradict the economic justification of the PSE, according to Bercy.
–
There is little chance, however, that the lines will move on this file of almost a year: on March 29, 2021, Ferroglobe, the world’s leading producer of silicon and employer of a thousand employees in France, announced a restructuring of its activities and the closure of two factories in Savoie and Isère. The latter, employing 131 people, was saved in the fall. The management – which did not respond to our maintenance requests – seems determined to go through with the closure of the other site.
Florange Law
Today, no law obliges them to continue their activity. “The Florange law imposes an obligation of means in the search for buyers”, recalls the LR deputy for Savoie Vincent Rolland who, with his colleague Emilie Bonnivard, is carrying a bill to change the text. “But we ask that there is also an obligation of result when the production is part of a strategic list, like silicon. »
The elected official also suggests putting in the balance the public aid from which the group benefits for its other French sites: “12 million carbon offset advances have already been received. Like the government, the two Savoyard parliamentarians support the employees’ proposal: the restart of two of the four ovens, with a review clause in 12 months, all accompanied by partial unemployment and a voluntary departure plan.
–
