It is the end of four decades of activity. This Wednesday, July 26, the general management of the Gaillance group as well as the union representatives of Bodin acted on the plan to safeguard the employment of the specialist in organic poultry. His cutting workshop, located in Sainte-Hermine, in Vendée, will therefore close its doors.
The company started its activity more than forty years ago, in 1979. “Almost one in three chickens is made here”, recalled Arnaud Poupart-Lafarge, general manager of Gaillance, interviewed by our colleagues from France bleu. The closure of the factory was decided to make the group “more competitive”, while the sector is facing “a succession of crises”, including avian flu which hit farms last year.
To read also “I will die you!” : for activists of the animal cause, the end of breeding justifies all means
According to our colleagues, 75 of the 104 employees will be laid off, and some could benefit from offers to work on other sites of the Galliance group. It remains to be seen whether these proposals will convince the main interested parties, who will, if necessary, have to move: “The closest site to Sainte-Hermine is Le Bignon, almost an hour’s drive”, reacted Isabelle Dieumegard, delegate CFDT of Bodin. “People have their families here. There are some who have forty years of seniority ”, underlined, with France bleu, the trade unionist.
For the time being, out of three-quarters of the dismissed employees, sixteen employees mainly performing support functions have already agreed to go to work on the Ancenis site. The 59 others, working mainly in production – and who have for some “forty years of seniority” as illustrated by the CFDT delegate – have not yet responded to the offer. They will be able to benefit from a follow-up committee set up by Gaillance, to support them in their job search.
