the mayor of Saint-Jeoire goes to Luxembourg in the hope of saving 40 jobs
The mayor of Saint-Jeoire, Haute-Savoie, began a long journey to Luxembourg in the hope of retaining the largest employer in his municipality, the Avient factory, which was doomed to close. He obtained an appointment with the management, but no guarantee for the 40 unemployed employees.
A strong ally in the fight against the closure of a factory which leaves 40 unemployed employees. The mayor of Saint-Jeoire, in Haute-Savoie, is fighting alongside employees against the relocation of the Avient factory. This industrial flagship, specialist in the production of colored plastic granules, is established in its municipality for more than 70 years. But the American multinational which bought it a few months ago decided to close this site on December 23 to relocate the activity to Poland.
For the mayor, Antoine Valentin, this decline raises the question of industrial policy in France while the Saint-Jeoire plant still employed 800 employees thirty years ago. “The start-up nation is all well and good, but the start-up nation in Saint-Jeoire is above all the closure of the factory. No Uber or Deliveroo delivery man and no start-up in the news technologies, so it’s precariousness and the loss of jobs in the region “, he slices.
So Antoine Valentin decided to fight against what will cost to save jobs and this factory, the biggest employer in his town. Despite numerous requests, the management of Avient never responded to him. That’s why he decided to surrender himself at the multinational’s European headquarters, in Luxembourg, on January 5. At the end of more than 1,600 km of road, the city council was unable to pass through the front door of the offices.
“You just closed a factory and kicked 80 people out on Christmas Eve. I must have called thirty times, including the head office in France. I must have written ten letters, as many mails, I had no response. You are the largest employer in my town. We leave employees who have 35 years of seniority in precariousness and there is no one to discuss, no one to receive us “, we see him getting annoyed at the entrance to the headquarters, in a video posted on social networks.
After long hours of waiting, many videos that have gone viral, Antoine Valentin retrieved the email address of the human resources department. “For the moment, I have an appointment, finally, with the management on the site of the factory on January 31. The group has come out of its silence and I always ask them to abandon this project of closure. From the factory”, says the mayor of Saint-Jeoire.
The councilor does not hesitate to speak of human, industrial and environmental scandal. Because the activity of chemistry and plastic dyes practiced since 1946 on the Saint-Jeoire site questions the elected representative as to the future of the soils of this possible industrial wasteland and its depollution.