On 10 July 1998, the management of the French publicly-owned arms manufacturing group, GIAT Industries, officially announced a redundancy programme for 1999-2002 comprising 3,550 job losses and the closure of three factories. Trade unions unanimously rejected this plan at a meeting of the central works council.
Download article in original language : FR9807124NFR.DOC
On 10 July 1998, the management of the French publicly-owned arms manufacturing group, GIAT Industries, officially announced a redundancy programme for 1999-2002 comprising 3,550 job losses and the closure of three factories. Trade unions unanimously rejected this plan at a meeting of the central works council.
The direction of the defence policy announced by President Jacques Chirac in 1996 - the end of conscription, a reorganisation of the armed forces aimed at bringing French forces into line with those of the other world powers, especially the USA, and steady integration into NATO- has had consequences for defence industry policy.
Against a backdrop of an average of 9,000-10,000 jobs being cut annually in the arms industry over recent decades, France' new defence policy has had a direct impact on the two publicly-owned groups in the sector: GIAT Industries (Groupement Industriel des Armements Terrestres) and DCN (Direction des constructions navales, the Navy's dockyards). The former is now in the front line of cuts.
On 10 July 1998, the management of GIAT announced a redundancy programme (plan social) comprising 3,274 job cuts at GIAT SA, and 276 in the group's subsidiaries. It aims to achieve a staffing level of 6,700 people for the group by 31 December 2002, compared with the 10,300 employees it will have as of 1 January 1999, and the current 10,700. "Three of the 14 current plants (in Rennes, Le Mans and Salbris) could be closed by 2000 and their activities transferred to other sites within the group," the management declared in a press release. Two further plants are threatened with closure: the subsidiary, Cime Bocuze's plant in Saint-Pierre-en-Faucigny (Haute-Savoie) and Manurhin's, in Cusset (Allier).
The redundancy programme, which contains accompanying and mitigating measures, has been costed at FRF 3 billion, "of which FRF 1.9 billion will go on the early retirement at 52 plan", according to the CGT trade union confederation. The Defence Minister publicly restated his support for the plan on 14 July, and hoped that the restructuring of the armed forces would enable jobs to be created close to the group's main plants, to make up for those lost. Unions have organised protests in all the towns where GIAT Industries has premises. At the meeting of the central works council (comité central d'entreprise, CCE) on 10 July, they unanimously rejected the redundancy programme and asked for the management's proposals to be submitted to independent expert appraisal. Another meeting of the CCE was planned for the second half of September, and meetings of the works councils of each plant were postponed until after this second meeting, "to take into account the unions demand for outside appraisal", the management has stated.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (1998), 3,550 job losses in state-run arms company, article.
