FO calls for “conditionality of public aid”

“The first condition is to keep jobs in France”, insists on ICI Paris Île-de-France, Frédéric Souillot, the secretary general of Force Ouvrière who affirms that Orangina has benefited from public aid.

“These are complete families who will lose their jobs” in La Courneuve (Seine-Saint-Denis), with the closure of the Orangina factory, deplores Frédéric Souillot, the general secretary of Force Ouvrière, guest ofHERE Paris Île-de-France (ex-France Bleu) Wednesday November 19. He goes there at midday to support the employees and demands a “conditionality of public aid”while “Orangina got money”he assures. The factory will close by the end of 2026. 105 jobs will be lost. The news was announced during a CSE a month ago.

“Since 1970, this factory has been in La Courneuve and since there has been public aid paid to businesses, in particular the research and development tax credit, the employment competitiveness tax credit, Orangina has received money, explains Frédéric Souillot. At some point the first conditionality must be employment in France. Today, closing this site means total incomprehension for employees.” Frédéric Souillot, however, hopes that the government will maintain these jobs. “I will talk about it first to the Minister of Industry, and then secondly, we will look at the terms of the departure plan, retraining, etc., because these are entire families who will lose their jobs”he laments.

The boss of Orangina explained that sales are in decline, as for other brands: Coca Cola is closing in Clamart (Hauts-de-Seine), Nestlé is cutting jobs at Blédina, Teisseire is closing factories, recalls ICI Paris Île-de-France. “The first condition is to keep your job in France, replies the general secretary of FO. Afterwards, there can be discussions, but for Orangina employees like those of Blédina or others, there is a lot of misunderstanding. We tell them ‘we have to maintain the objectives, work weekends, do more production’ and in the end, we tell them we’re closing the site anyway, it’s not possible”he protests.

The soda tax, a surcharge on sugary drinks, would also be at the origin of Orangina’s problems. “What would have been Orangina’s responsibility when they saw that all these taxes were coming is to do research, development and put less sugar in the drink,” comments Frédéric Souillot. The Orangina brand “brought a lot of money to the new Japanese owner, when he bought back, so much the better. But these shareholders can’t just think about profits and dividends at the end of the year. There are jobs, there is a brand and this brand is French”, concludes the general secretary of Force Ouvrière.