The relocation of services Castorama in Poland, involving the removal of 409 jobs in the Kingfisher group, is not based on any “valid commercial reasons” with regard to the right of the French workplace, according to experts commissioned by the central committee of the company.
The “degradation in displayed performance of France is not enough, according to us, to demonstrate a valid commercial reason in relation to the right of the French labor”, say the accountants in the executive summary of the report presented on Wednesday to Templemars (Nord) in CCE. The british group of diy stores Kingfisher has announced in February the removal of 409 posts in France at Castorama and Brico Dépôt, after its decision to relocate part of its services, including accounting, Poland.
The turnover of the group increased
These relocations are part of the plan “One Kingfisher” carried out since 2016, which aims to raise 500 million pounds annual income of the group by the financial year 2020-2021, but it can cause to the time of the expenditures that weigh on the accounts. “According to our estimates, 93 % potential savings will come from purchasing synergies and no job cuts planned,” says the firm in its advisory report. “And this, while the reorganization project presented a risk of generating dysfunctional business that could still impact the performance of Castorama France.”
The turnover of the group, present especially in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France, rose by 3.8% to 11.7 billion pounds in 2017. In France, it fell by 3.5% at constant exchange rates. The executive of Kingfisher France stated that it did not have “comments outside of the social dialogue and of information to bring to our people”.
“Our goal has not changed. It is to secure a job within our companies in France to each employee affected by a removal position”, added Olivier Lurson, director of human resources France of Kingfisher. “This is our ambition and guide the measures of social support proposed in the PES.” A final day of negotiations is scheduled for may 14.
(Source : AFP)
