Abrupt end of the game for one of the call centers of the American Conduent based in Guilherand-Granges, in Ardèche, following the breach of contract of its only client: Apple. The 238 employees of this antenna will be made redundant by this summer, we learn from France Bleu, which reports a cessation of activity in ubiquitous terms. The agreement reached between Conduent and Apple provided for a cessation of activity on May 5 for this site… before finally advancing it to March 4. The employees concerned had not been notified.
« That day, I was shocked. We were in total confusion. Am I fired? What is happening ? We realized the violence of the thing explains Pauline Boléa, CFDT union representative, during a press conference organized on March 17 and attended by France Blue.
238 employees laid off overnight
« The company is doing everything to make it go wrong. Overnight they blocked the computers, they blocked access to the site. People found themselves completely isolated and abandoned by their employer, Conduent, because of this decision by Apple “Explains for his part Pascal Souche, also CFDT union representative, at the microphone of Dauphiné Libéré.
« The future will be complicated. The social distress is there, it is colossal a company of 238 employees which closes “, also commented on the person concerned, this time with France Bleu. ” We are not asking for a big check but for real redeployment leave so that people can train and find a new job. Apple must take responsibility“, he continues.
A job protection plan, rather badly named given the context, is well underway but it is already strongly criticized by the employees affected by this closure. According to Pascal Souche explains in particular that the latter would be poor in terms of the training budget allocated to employees with a view to retraining: 4000 euros per person. Very insufficient according to him. As France Bleu specifies, the 238 employees laid off nevertheless remain paid until their dismissal planned within a few months.
Finally, note that Conduent had already closed two other of its sites in France: a first in Sophia-Antipolis (Alpes-Maritimes) in 2019, followed by another in 2020 in Roubaix (Nord).
March 24 Update: Statement from Conduent
« Although we do not share detailed information on the operations of our production centers, we have previously shared that the only customer of our customer experience management center in Guilherand-Granges has decided to stop using the services. provided to him from this site.
On February 22, 2023, Conduent Business Process Solutions therefore began a process of informing and consulting the Social and Economic Committee on the project to restructure its service delivery center in Guilherand-Granges envisaged following this decision. Conduent Business Process Solutions will make every effort, in consultation with staff representatives, trade unions and administrative authorities, to enable all employees affected by this cessation of activity to be able to reclassify quickly and in the best possible conditions.
Ongoing negotiations with trade unions do not allow us to make any further comments at this stage. ».
