Industrial rubber and plastic products manufacturer Semperit AG Holding has decided to carry out cost-saving and restructuring measures in relation to the production site of its 100% subsidiary Sempertrans France Belting Technology S.A.S. in Argenteuil, France, as resolved by the company’s Management Board, in a bid to improve the profitability of the Semperit Group.
These measures could also include the possible complete shutdown of the French production site. The office of Sempertrans France Belting Technology S.A.S. in Levallois, France, will not be subject to such cost-saving and restructuring measures. All other activities of the Semperit Group in France are not affected by these measures.
The decision by the Management Board and the Supervisory Board will lead to exceptional charges and one-off expenses for the Semperit Group of more than EUR10 million. This amount takes into account a possible complete shutdown of the French production site and the likely costs in connection therewith, as well as additional effects on the balance sheet of the Semperit Group (e.g., write-offs and other value adjustments of assets).
The exact costs will only be available once a special consultation and negotiation procedure with the representative bodies of the affected French employees, which is mandatory under French law, will have been finalised.
This special procedure entails negotiations with a view to alternative solutions to the potential shutdown of the French production site, determining alternative job opportunities of the staff members of the French production site within the Semperit Group, potential support in relation to outplacements, possible (re-)training measures, payments under a social compensation plan and/or additional accompanying measures as provided for by French law.
The special consultation and negotiation procedure will be initiated today and will take approximately up to three months. The outcome of this special consultation and negotiation procedure will determine which cost-saving and restructuring measures will ultimately be implemented in relation to the French production site.
Additionally, such cost-saving and restructuring measures agreed between the company and the representative bodies of the affected French employees may only be implemented following the approval by the French labor authorities.
The company will inform on the results of the special consultation and negotiation procedure and the impact on the Semperit Group’s financials, as relevant.