the Annecy public prosecutor’s office requests the cancellation of the sale
The Annecy prosecutor’s office (Haute-Savoie) asked on Wednesday for the “resolution of the disposal planof Alpine Aluminum before the commercial court, which will amount to canceling the sale of the plant, and a judgment under advisement is expected on August 31.
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“It is considered that the transferees have not fulfilled their commitments in terms of safeguarding employment, maintaining the historic activity of Alpine Aluminum (…) and creating jobs on the site“, explained to AFP the deputy prosecutor of the Republic of Annecy, Benoît Defournel, on the sidelines of a hearing reserved for this case on Wednesday. This request from the prosecution, filed on May 4, is a procedure “extremely rare“, indicated Benoît Defournel. The sale of Alpine Aluminium, then in receivership, was pronounced on December 3, 2019 by the Commercial Court of Annecy. At the time, the buyers Samfy-Invest and Industry had notably undertaken to take over 49 of the 85 employees. But last May,only one employment contract out of the 49continued, the prosecution had indicated, following dismissals and contractual terminations.
For their part, Samfy-Invest and Industry ensure that they want to carry out their industrial project. But the activity cannot resumeuntil we have cleaned up and secured the site“, according to the lawyer of the companies, Me Brice Lacoste. The buyers have already spent”9 million euros“in the operating budget, depollution, guarding and reconstruction, detailed Me Lacoste, and equipped with an injector again”ten million eurosas part of their project. On behalf of the former employees of the cooperative production company (Scop), who had “invested their money for the continuation of the industrial activity“, Me Thierry Billet for his part claimed at the hearing the payment of “three years salary” under “damages and interests“.
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The Alpine Aluminum factory, specializing in the transformation of aluminium, is a historic industrial site in Cran-Grevrier (Annecy), a descendant of the Forges de Crans, which date back to the 18th century.