Il Alstom case it shakes France again, and this time it does so a few months before the electoral campaign. The transalpine industrial giant, which in 2014 sold – already under the presidency of François Hollande – its Energy branch to General Electric, is once again in the eye of the storm: the management has announced the closure of one of its production plants in France , in Belfort, which will cost the jobs of 400 of the current 480 employees in the town near the borders with Germany and Switzerland.
They have been offered the transfer to the nearby Reichshoffen factory (still in French territory), but there is tension. And this new grain could cost dearly not only to President Hollande, given that the state is now the first shareholder of Alstom with 20%, but also to the now ex-minister of the Economy Emmanuel Macron, who is also running for the 2017 presidential elections and who promised Alstom "zero layoffs" a year ago.
The node is to absence of internal orders: the group, which has 31.000 employees worldwide, over 21.000 of which in Europe, is unable to keep the 12 sites currently operating in France open (there are over 100 worldwide, with almost 5.000 employees in North America alone and also two plants in Italy) because it now invoices almost exclusively outside the EU. “The French market – he writes Le Figaro – was above all guaranteed by orders from the State and the Railways, which decreased due to reduced budgets. Between now and 2018, in the 12 French sites, it is a 40% reduction in the workforce is expected".
Just a few days ago Alstom lost a very important order: the Akiem company (partnered by the French SNCF and Deutsche Bank) awarded the construction of 44 machines for a value of 140 million euros to the German Vossloh. A serious "hole", in a context in which the accounts - after the sale of Alstrom Energia to GE - have improved in any case: in the last year profits rose to 3 billion euro, with the turnover which came close to 7 billion (+7% compared to the previous period). The problem, however, is the operating margin at 5,3%, lower than that of the competition.
Competition is one of the hottest topics: Hollande would in fact like to push the management to rethink the Belfort factory by increasing public orders, but this would not automatically save jobs, given that some of the main competitors, such as Bombardier or Siemens, also have their production plants in France. Moreover, the sector is booming globally, and with the low level of investment currently recorded in France and Europe, it is difficult to resist the rise of, for example, the Chinese giant CRRC, or Hitachi which has also incorporated the Italian Ansaldo.
This is why even for Alstom the rumors of a major acquisition are making a comeback. Less than a year ago Macron himself wished for it, arguing that "Alstom's first objective is to grow": then, as now, there was talk of Bombardier Transportation. Not an impossible challenge, given that the French group is struggling to produce but by selling Energy it has completely freed itself from debt.
