3M Manager Held Hostage by French Workers Freed After 24 Hours

by Blaine Metzgar | March 26, 2009 at 12:00 pm

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Luc Rousselet, the manager of a 3M factory producing pharmaceutical products in Pithiviers, France, was held hostage in his own office for more than a day.

The pharmaceutical factory, which employs 235 people, is laying off 110 employees while 40 more are being transferred to another factory. After briefing recently laid-off employees about their compensation package Rousselet began to feel threatened and withdrew to his office on Tuesday afternoon. With Rousselet secured in his office, nearly 150 employees negotiated job severeance benefits.

French TV showed 3M's director of French operations, Luc Rousselet, locked up alone in an office, in front of his computer, talking on the phone and eating.

Maryse Bulte, 44, one of the employees, said: "Initially we didn't want to hold him. We just sought talks and concrete results.

"It was despair and distress which made us do this," added Cyril Foufelle, 36.

By early Thursday morning, Rousselet was released from his office after unions and officials of 3M France discussed terms for the recently laid-off staff. Contrary to the sound of the incident, the situation was calm while labor talks took place on Wednesday.

"We have an agreement with 3M that they will provide the means to respond to our demands," union representative Jean-Francois Caparros told news agency AFP.

Rousselet was unharmed and said to an Associated Press reporter,

"Everything's fine" and workers planned to bring him mussels and French fries for dinner.

Ever the understanding manager, Rousselet stated,

"The negotiations will resume and that's a very good thing," said Rousselet as he left an office where he took refuge on Tuesday afternoon.

"I am very happy for the employees of the Pithiviers factory. I know that this was a very difficult lay-off plan for them,"

Due to the current economic state, 3M has recently announced thousands of job cuts. while France has seen outbreak in layoff related incidents including more than a million workers protesting last week and beseeching President Nicolas Sarkozy to "do more to protect their jobs."

Earlier this month the boss of Sony France was held overnight before workers freed him after he agreed to reopen talks on compensation when the factory closed.

And last week angry tire factory workers threw eggs at their bosses in a protest over the closure of their plant.