Goodyear in France says it has had no information from Titan International concerning a possible takeover of its tyre plant in Amiens Nord, despite speculation the American company could launch a bid.
The future for the site in northern France looks increasingly bleak and tomorrow (7 November) will see the last Works Council to discuss its potential shuttering that could see the loss of nearly 1,200 jobs.
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“We still have not received anything [contact] at all, neither from Titan nor from Montebourg [Arnaud, French Economics Redevelopment Minister], so we are just waiting to have some information,” a Goodyear spokesman told just-auto from France.
“We can’t really say much because we don’t know [if] there is an offer, we don’t know if there is a plan. We don’t know if it is just a conversation between the Minister and Titan.”
Tomorrow’s Works Council is due to take place with Goodyear’s unions against the background of potential staff redeployment or transfer, although there is no indication yet of any potential numbers of redundancies.
There has been a harsh series of exchanges in France between Titan CEO, Maurice Taylor and one hardline union in particular, the CGT, who appear to have little time for each other.
Earlier this year, 57 companies around the world that were deemed potentially suitable for a takeover were contacted by the French Agency for International Investment (AFII), of which eight declared themselves interested.
Of these eight companies, five signed confidentiality agreements and two non-binding offers were presented, but the Economic Redevelopment Ministry said at the time no candidates were in a position to present a binding offer.
“The Works Council is at headquarters in Reuil,” said the Goodyear spokesman. “We really don’t know what to expect tomorrow. For us it is the last step in the process.
“All the representatives of the personnel will be there – they should be there. It is up to them [to] come or not.”
The Works Council is due to start at 08:30 French time.
