Type
Internal restructuring
Country
France
Region
Location of affected unit(s)
Pont-Audemer, La Ciotat, Sophia Antipolis
Sector
Manufacturing
Manufacture Of Computer, Electrical Electronic And Optical Products
Manufacture Of Computer, Electronic And Optical Products
26.12 - Manufacture of loaded electronic boards

220 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
21 January 2020
Employment effect (start)
1 May 2020
Foreseen end date

Description

The Thales group announced a reorganisation of the Thales DIS France division with the elimination of 220 positions out of a total of 1,014 within the division. The SIM card manufacturing business, which originated from Gemalto acquired by Thales in April 2019, is in decline. Lower costs, market saturation and the advent of eSIM are all contributing to the decline of the SIM card business. Three of the group's sites are affected: Pont-Audemer (Eure), La Ciotat (Bouches-du-Rhône) and Sophia Antipolis (Alpes-Maritimes). They employ a total of 1,014 employees.

In order to redirect and reclassify some 220 positions, Thales has presented the trade unions with an 'active employment management' scheme aimed at reclassifying employees in professions whose future is threatened for economic or technological reasons, through internal mobility, training or early retirement. Thales has identified 150 'at risk' positions out of 330 at the SIM card production site in Pont-Audemer. In addition, 70 'at risk' positions have been identified at its La Ciotat (600 employees) and Sophia Antipolis (84 employees) sites. These two entities, which are not production sites, are specialised in IT, data management, marketing, sales and R&D.

A former restructuring concerning Gemalto took place in 2017 with 408 Job cuts. It was the last social plan within Gemalto, but since then, job cuts occured with instruments other than a social plan.


Sources

Citation

Eurofound (2020), Thales DIS France , Internal restructuring in France, factsheet number 99700, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/99700.