3M Boss Kidnapped in France
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A top executive of 3M has been kidnapped from a factory by workers on strike in France who are angry about job cuts. Luc Rousselet, the pharmaceuticals chief, was locked into a room at the 3M factory just south of Paris. Rousselet had arrived to negotiate severance pay yesterday following the cut of 110 out of 235 of the workforce there. He was grabbed by trade unionists who left him very distressed, according to a statement from a company spokesman.
Jean-François Caparros, from the Force Ouvrière union, said that the management is who is responsible for the situation. This kind of reaction is the only tool they have for negotiations, he continued, and the director wasn’t in any danger. All they are asking is that their demands for fairer conditions and pay be met, added Caparros.
A spokesman for the police involved said that they are aware of what is going on, and a judicial representative, as well as other officers, are attending the situation.
This most recent 3M kidnapping is only the latest clash between management and unions in France, who is being hit by job cuts due to the economic recession. Only tens days ago two executives were taken hostage by workers at a factory of Sony’s in France over a dispute about layoffs. The executives were held there for 18 hours. Plus, just last week, as many as three million people went into the streets of France for protests against how the worsening financial crisis is being handled.
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