“Psychological support is not enough. Every day, we have employees in the factory in tears. There is a telephone hotline for those who need it and the presence, one day a week, of a professional, but the trauma is so palpable…” A few dozen meters from the entrance gates, Stéphane Genter, CFDT leader, is the spokesperson for employees in shock. The decision by Bonduelle, the French specialist in the vegetable market, to stop its production of bagged salads, leaves little hope for the 159 employees of the site nestled in Maizey, in the countryside of Saint-Mihiel (Meuse).
“In seven years, the bagged salad sales business has fallen by 15%,” explains Bonduelle management. “Consumer trends have changed a lot and competition from distributors has intensified. The company can no longer absorb the losses; the group’s sustainability depends on it.” Established in this rural sector since 1997, the employer has therefore started looking for a buyer. The axe, which everyone fears as it has already been decided, will fall in March.