A worker throws another tyre on a fire in a blockade of the stricken Goodyear plant in Amiens, northern France on November 7th. Photo: François Lo Presti/AFP
Workers at a Goodyear tyre plant at Amiens in northern France have taken two of their bosses hostage over plans to shut down the factory.
The heads of production and human resources are being held until the staff say they receive “enormous amounts of money.”
“I don’t agree with holding them but what do you want us to do? We are waiting for politicians to come and negotiate with them,” said Pierre Jeanne, who has worked at the firm for 30 years.
Sentiments shared by one of his colleagues, Franck Jurek: “There is no work in Picardy, we don’t find anything. We need money in order to be able to survive for some time. Quite simply. The war is now starting.”
The closure of the plant was announced last January after years of tense relations between unions and management.
In November, management said it had ended all consultation procedures with staff.
There has been no official word yet from Goodyear’s US owners. The factory is due to close throwing 1,173 people out of work with staff expected to receive redundancy notices this month.
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