News & Analysis
Strike at Freescale Toulouse
Anne-Francoise Pele
9/15/2009 5:34 AM EDT
In April, Freescale Semiconductor Inc. (Austin, Texas) unveiled its plan to close its 6-inch fab in Toulouse, as well as another similar size line at Sendai, in Japan, as part of its ongoing restructuring plans. The chipmaker then said it would lay off
The strike started nine days ago, on unions' initiative, and they said it is likely to strengthen to demand a "decent redundancy payment".
At this point, only trucks can enter the site, but entries could be progressively reduced, said unions.
"About 75 percent of workers are on strike, and the production unit that operates mainly for the automotive sector is paralyzed," declared Eric Hirson, spokesperson for the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), French trade union, to AFP.
Hirson notified that strikers intend to set up an interprofessional demonstration before long with workers from other threatened companies such as Molex or TDF.
Freescale Toulouse Fab's 68,000-square-foot factory produces power management products for the automotive market and has manufacturing capabilities to the
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tparty
9/15/2009 5:06 PM EDT
"Strike"? They are getting laid off in a couple of weeks, production probably already shut down. Sounds more like an illegal takeover of the plant ("entries could be progressively reduced"), an extortion tactic by the union. Great way to get international companies thinking positively about establishing factories in France, where the rule of union politics trumps the rule of law.
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xFSL
9/18/2009 6:39 PM EDT
--"Strike"? They are getting laid off in a couple of weeks, production probably already shut down.
Remember we're talking about the French here!!
It took Freescale best part of two years to finish production in their factory in Scotland after they first announced they planned to close it,
and that was without any strikes or even the threat of strikes..
I'd anticipate that it's going to to take much, much longer to close the Toulouse facility, and I doubt that Richy Beyer
will be going anywhere near the place incase he gets locked inside by the workforce ....
Sacked" target="_blank" style="">href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jIIM90WyRdtmDowkRXClzkxsM7Xg">Sacked French workers
take to 'bossnapping'
OR in case they blow the plant up while he's inside it....
Explosive" target="_blank" style="">href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/15/french_plant_threat/>Explosive French workers threaten second factory
Wonder what the reaction in the Japanese plant is....
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