Energy prices: two glass factories forced to resort to partial unemployment

Soaring energy prices will have ended up asphyxiating the Arc d’Arques crystal factory (Pas-de-Calais). “Between 2021 and 2022, the gas bill for Arc in France will increase from 19 million to 75 million [d’euros]”explains William Rabel Suquetcommunication director of Arc France. With this bill multiplied by four, it is impossible for the company to maintain the pace, because to produce its glasses, the crystal factory uses ovens that heat up to more than 1,300°C.

These gas-fired ovens cannot be shut down overnight. So, in an emergency, the company chose to put 1,600 of its 4,600 employees on partial unemployment, two days a week. A hard blow for the staff, in view of inflation. Other historical glassworks again in difficulty: the company Duralexin La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin (Loiret). She will put her oven on standby this winter. From November, no more glasses or plates will leave the production lines : it is partial unemployment. Production should not resume until February 2023, but the tempered glass specialist claims to have sufficient stocks to continue its activity.