Scopelec in danger. The takeover project by poorly deposited employees: they write to Emmanuel Macron
By Thibaut Calatayud
Published on
The letter was addressed to Emmanuel Macron. Friday, December 16, 2022, the group Scopelec sent an open letter to the President of the Republic. The reason ? Ask him to support the recovery project called “NewScope”, worn by Carlos Verkaerenthe current chairman of the board of the largest workers’ cooperative in France.
“Few prospects” for the employee takeover project
On Tuesday September 27, 2022, the Lyon Commercial Court placed Scopelec in legal redress. The consequence of losing a contract with their biggest customer: Orange.
With the fall of the company, the jobs of 2,323 employees, including 500 in Occitanie alone (the company is deployed in Sorèze in the Tarn and Saint-Orens in Haute-Garonne), are in danger.
Several buyers have decided. Among them, we find “Newscope”, an entity represented by Carlos Verkaeren, the current chairman of the executive board of Scopelec, and supported by the Union Régionale des Scop Occitanie Pyrénées (URSCOP) but also several elected officials from the left and from the center. The holders of this takeover offer ensure that they can take over 1,457 employees out of the 2,323 jobs at risk (including 500 in Occitania).
But this promise does not seem to have convinced justice… “On December 28, the Commercial Court of Lyon will announce its decision after having left few prospects, on December 8, to the internal takeover offer presented by Scopelec, the the only one who has consulted the employees concerned, ”writes the current management in its letter to Emmanuel Macron.
Employees ready to put a million in the takeover project
In this letter, the signatories – “the staff of the Scopelec group (70% are in favor of this project, editor’s note), the social partners, the Supervisory Board representing the members” -, defend the “Newscope” takeover project, recalling that the employees are ready to invest nearly one million euros.
“A pledge of [leur] attachment to the cooperative model and [leur] determination to succeed.”
“Newscope” wants the support of Emmanuel Macron
After recalling that this offer was the best way to limit social damage, Scopelec asks the Head of State to position himself clearly in favor of “Newscope”: “Mr. President, at a time when you are raising the stakes of employee shareholding, supporting this project is the guarantee that the fruits of the labor of the women and men of Scopelec will not be transferred to shareholders in France or abroad but to their employees and their members in our territory”.
“This would be a triple-win solution: for employees, with the preservation of 1,457 jobs; for the State, then, with submissive, non-speculative management; finally, to guarantee our sovereignty in two strategic sectors, our telecommunications and the energy transition.”
Will the appeal of the signatories be heard by Emmanuel Macron? Could presidential support reverse the trend? Reply on December 28.
Was this article helpful to you? Know that you can follow Actu Toulouse in space My News . In one click, after registration, you will find all the news of your favorite cities and brands.