the Arc crystal works will shut down some of its furnaces during the winter
The Arc group, accumulated by the rise in the price of gas and the drop in orders, will shut down part of its furnaces during the winter and partially substitute fuel oil for gas.
Faced with “the brutal fall in the tableware market, which has lost almost a quarter of its value in just a few weeks, and the dazzling increase in the price of energy”, the group has decided “to halt during the winter of certain ovens,” according to a statement released Thursday. He specifies that “4 to 6 ovens out of 9 will be kept in operation during this period”.
The glass group, world leader in tableware, based in Pas-de-Calais, also announces “the occasional use of domestic fuel oil as a substitute for gas” to run its ovens. These two measures “could be maintained until the situation improves”.
1,600 employees on partial unemployment
Arc has already placed since September 1, 1,600 of its 7,800 employees in support and administrative functions on partial unemployment and warned on this occasion that “production workers” could also be affected in the coming weeks.
According to the company’s communications director, Guillaume Rabel-Suquet, it is still too early to measure the impact in terms of partial activity of the shutdown of the ovens – two of which must undergo repairs.
The Minister of Industry was expecting Friday
On Friday, the Minister Delegate for Industry, Roland Lescure, is expected at Arc for an exchange “on the impact of the increase in energy prices” and the solutions to be provided, the ministry announced.
According to the press release from Arc, “a reorientation of the product portfolio towards innovative items with high added value (…) as well as an optimization of the industrial tool” will be allowed. As part of this new strategy, there will be “no layoffs” but a use of internal mobility a “drastic reduction in the use of temporary workers”, assured Rabel-Suquet to AFP.
“Will refocusing on value-added products be enough to cover our fixed costs?” worries the secretary of the CSE, Patrice Bollengier (CFE-CGC). “On maintenance, we have a lot of trouble recruiting. We have trained a lot of young people. If they find themselves in partial activity and find a position that pays better, they will not hesitate”, he underlines.