“It’s the worst Christmas present that the staff could have,” regrets the CGT after the meeting between the inter-union and management

All the stores of the Casino brand will be sold, this is the choice of the future buyers announced Thursday during a meeting with the inter-union association. “Today, employees feel thrown away like expired goods,” believes the CGT.

“It’s the worst Christmas present the staff could have had”, regrets Thursday December 7 on franceinfo Michel Rieux, CGT deputy central union delegate of the Casino group, after the meeting between the inter-union and management. Representatives of the inter-union were received on Thursday by management and representatives of the group’s future shareholders, while the group faces a debt of more than 6 billion euros. During this meeting, the future buyers confirmed that they wanted to sell off all of the brand’s stores. “Casino as the Guichard family imagined it, it’s over”adds Michel Rieux, who points to the responsibility of director Jean-Charles Naouri: “He’s stabbing us tonight.”.

The strike notice filed by employees runs until December 31. After demonstrating on Tuesday December 5 in Saint-Etienne where the head office is located, a new demonstration is planned for Thursday December 14. The group is placed in accelerated safeguard procedure by the Paris commercial court. Heavily indebted, Casino is preparing to sell its approximately 60 hypermarkets and 260 supermarkets.

franceinfo: At the end of this meeting, do you know precisely what you will become and what Casino will become?

Michel Rieux: There are still gray areas. What had worried us for several days was the announcements in the press stating that our stores were going to be sold. Despite our unions’ assertions to management, store managers were in denial. Reality catches up with us tonight. Casino, as the Guichard family had imagined, is over. Mr. Naouri is the only one responsible for this debacle. After bringing his employees to their knees in recent years, he is stabbing us this evening. This is the worst Christmas present that the Casino staff could have had as the end of the year approaches. We blame Jean-Charles Naouri.

Bruno Le Maire must meet with the mayor of Saint-Étienne. The Minister of the Economy wants to save the head office, do you believe it?

It depends on what we call ‘saving the siege of Saint-Étienne’. If it’s keeping the walls, then yes they will keep them. But the heart of the headquarters today are the supermarkets and hypermarkets. This is the history of Casino and it is what employs the most people. And behind it, there are also the warehouses.

“If supermarkets and hypermarkets are sold, what will become of the warehouses?”

Michel Rieux, CGT of the Casino group

at franceinfo

Do the buyers take them back too? We are entitled to ask questions about the future of employees at headquarters, warehouses and hypermarkets and supermarkets. We don’t know our buyers. We have such catastrophic results in supermarkets that it is not impossible that there will be outright closures of stores and dry closures mean job losses. We can only be worried.

Are you worried about job losses? Do you hope that the majority of Casino group employees will be taken over?

We will do everything to ensure that all employees are included in the establishments, including at head office level. Today, employees feel thrown away like expired merchandise. They are in disgust at what could have happened. They are very angry with Mr. Naouri. I think the anger will rise to a crescendo in the coming days. We can expect blockages during the month of December, whether at the head office, warehouses, or stores. Employees are not going to let themselves be thrown in the trash without reacting.