Of all this week’s events, the most jaw-dropping, if true, was surely the apparent peace moves between France’s fiery Industry Minister, Arnaud Montebourg and Maurice “The Grizz” Taylor, CEO of tyre manufacturer, Titan International.
Both parties were involved in an extraordinary row earlier this year that culminated in Montebourg penning a letter to the American boss, telling him in no uncertain terms just what he thought of his apparent questioning of French work practices.
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Just a couple of lines then from the Minister illustrate how wounded he felt by Taylor’s reported remarks, following Titan’s decision not to bid for Goodyear’s Amiens Nord tyre plant.
“Your extreme, as well as insulting, remarks demonstrate a perfect ignorance of what our country is about, such as its global attraction and links with the US,” thundered Montebourg.
“But above all, as much as your disparaging and ridiculous suggestions, these business know and appreciate the French workforce, its commitment and talent.
“Can I remind you that Titan, the business you run, is 20 times smaller than Michelin, our international technological leader and 35 times less profitable.”
That written hand grenade – and those paragraphs are just a fraction of Montebourg’s ire – looked to have scuppered any Titan/Goodyear deal for good but it appears talks – of all things – have been taking place between both the company and the politician – although interestingly not yet it seems between the Americans and Goodyear in France.
Into the debate has also waded hardline French union – the Confederation Generale du Travail – not a shrinking violet when it comes to industrial disputes – and the labour body was happy to add its thoughts on speculation Titan could retain 333 jobs out of nearly 1,200 at the northern France plant.
In a rare foray into mild humour – the CGT isn’t exactly renowned for its crackling one-liners – the union blog commented: “As you may have read or heard, the Grizzly is back, in reality, he never went away since the start.
“We never stopped saying – the Titan group already has patents and it needs our factory to manufacture for Europe.”
The whole thing could be smoke and mirrors, pure conjecture, but audio from a French radio station claims to have ‘The Grizz” saying he met M. Montebourg at the end of August in a meeting so shrouded in secrecy, details are only now leaking out.
Taylor apparently goes on to say he would save jobs at the plant – and although the precise number is unclear it would probably be a fraction of the 1,200 or so currently employed – while also seemingly taking a swipe at the CGT in a manner that will probably only inflame them.
The rumours swirling around France are not going away however and if Taylor’s Titan comes back in for the French tyre plant, it would be one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent industrial times.
France needs every bit of good news it can muster at the moment. Today (25 October) saw the last model exit PSA Peugeot Citroen’s Aulnay-sous-Bois factory near Paris as part of the French automaker’s drastic restructuring plans that could also see up to 8,000 jobs disappear.
The country’s struggling with a mountain of debt and enormous unemployment – President Francois Hollande is sinking in the popularity polls – all against non-stop talk of austerity stalking the land.
Any bit of good news – yes even The Grizz riding across the Atlantic to save some precious jobs at Amiens – will provide a badly-need fillip to a country sorely short of cheer.
