Multihull builder CNB to reduce its workforce
The CNB shipyard (Chantier Naval de Bordeaux), builder of sailing and motor catamarans, presents on September 8, 2020 in group committee, a draft Plan de Sauvegarde de l'Emploi (PSE). The Bénéteau Group's subsidiary, the leading industrial employer in the Gironde capital, is facing the slowdown and uncertainties in the yachting market. Following the reduction in the number of temporary workers, recourse to short-time working and the imposition of compulsory leave during the summer, management is starting negotiations with the unions for voluntary departures. The reduction target and all the social consequences are still unknown.
Adapting the Bénéteau Group to market uncertainties
The PES announcement comes as no surprise. The Bénéteau Group had already indicated in July that it was working on reducing its production capacity. The first victim of the Covid-19 crisis, marion's American plant has been mothballed.. as early as July. Management was already talking about the launch of negotiations in Europe: "Depending on the country and site, the whole range of possibilities is being studied, from short-time working to internal mobility and layoffs. The input data has yet to be validated on the drop in activity, in view of the figures for the start of the new school year in September," said Mirna Cieniewicz.
The suppression of autumn fairs limits the visibility for the industrialist. The difficulties experienced by international charter companies, disrupted by the sanitary barriers to travel, are having a direct impact on the multihull market. The CNB site in Bordeaux, builder of the Lagoon catamarans, is therefore particularly in the front line.
