In late October 2001, the Nanterre Commercial Court ruled that a bid tabled by SEB provided the best financial guarantees for the takeover of the troubled French electrical household appliance manufacturing group, Moulinex. The French-based SEB - a direct Moulinex competitor - plans some 4,600 job losses throughout Moulinex's worldwide operations, including 3,700 in France. Trade unions and workers at Moulinex have expressed their hostility to this decision.
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In late October 2001, the Nanterre Commercial Court ruled that a bid tabled by SEB provided the best financial guarantees for the takeover of the troubled French electrical household appliance manufacturing group, Moulinex. The French-based SEB - a direct Moulinex competitor - plans some 4,600 job losses throughout Moulinex's worldwide operations, including 3,700 in France. Trade unions and workers at Moulinex have expressed their hostility to this decision.
The French-based electrical household appliance manufacturer, Moulinex, which was bought out in 2000 by the Italian group Elfi and merged with Brandt, has been slipping further and further into financial crisis since the start of 2001. Following the restructuring of Moulinex's industrial operations in late April 2001, involving 4,000 job cuts, the company decided to file for bankruptcy. In October 2001, Moulinex was looking for a buyer - with bids from Fidei, a financial group specialising in buying out ailing companies, and the French-based SEB, a direct Moulinex competitor - and was on the brink of court-imposed liquidation (FR0110106F). However, this has now been avoided.
The Nanterre Commercial Court (Tribunal de Commerce de Nanterre) handed down a ruling on the 22 October 2001, backing the SEB plan over the Fidei proposal. The Fidei plan would, however, have retained 1,000 more employees than envisaged under the SEB proposal and was supported by employee representatives. However, in the view of the chair of the Court, the Fidei plan failed to provide sufficient evidence in support of the 'financial feasibility' of the proposal.
SEB is now to take over a third of Moulinex's France-based workforce - ie 1,856 workers out of a total of 5,600 - as well as 50% of the company's foreign-based employees. Consequently, 4,600 of Moulinex's 8,800-strong workforce are to lose their jobs. Five of Moulinex's nine plants in France are to be closed. SEB intends to give up the manufacture of microwaves, deep-fat fryers and vacuum cleaners and retain only food processors, coffee-makers and electric kettles. In other words, this means that SEB is taking over only Moulinex's profitable lines. Consequently, SEB will gain 70% of Moulinex's turnover without the losses. The transaction is set to cost SEB some EUR 320 million and will be debt financed.
Brandt, which carries a much lighter debt load, is to operate as a separate independent entity. An agreement was signed with the creditor banks in early October 2001. Nevertheless, would-be takeover bidders had until the 9 November 2001 to table their proposals. Brandt employs 12,000 people worldwide, of whom 50% are based in France.
Both Moulinex workers and their representatives have strongly have strongly disapproved of the Court's ruling. They consider that the Fidei bid was more favourable in terms of the numbers of jobs secured. All the trade unions agreed with the General Confederation of Labour-Force ouvrière (Confédération générale du travail-Force ouvrière, CGT-FO), which declared that 'the most terrible aspect is the 3,000 workers who are to be cast off from the company'. The General Confederation of Labour (Confédération générale du travail, CGT) has criticised 'the role played by the banks, which precipitated the decision to accept the SEB group's bid'. The French Democratic Confederation of Labour (Confédération française démocratique du travail, CFDT) intends to continue its sit-ins at Moulinex plants in an attempt to negotiate the retention of a larger number of employees.
The government, for its part, through the Secretary of State for Industry, has set up a 'crisis-management' task-force with a strong cross-ministry representation. This task-force will seek to organise the redeployment of redundant Moulinex workers. The head of the task-force will be responsible for 'identifying and implementing a solution for each worker' and for 'creating - in each area – at least as many new jobs as there are redundancies at Moulinex'. The state is to pledge EUR 75.45 million in financial assistance.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2001), Partial takeover of Moulinex by SEB, article.
