Gifi, Condat, MMT-B, Camus…: These Companies Which are Suffering and Worrying in the South-West

The industrial flagships and commercial activities in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region worry their employees and the territories that host them over economic uncertainty

If even today, despite economic, political and fiscal uncertainties, more businesses are being created than are disappearing and the unemployment rate is increasing slightly, it nonetheless remains true that industrial flagships and commercial activities in the region worry their employees and the territories that host them

“The world has changed, a few vertebrae have moved. “We cannot imagine, especially in a professional context, this extract from a song by Julien Doré coming from the mouth of Marie-Agnès de Montbron, regional director of the Banque de France. However, it was with these words that on September 17 she opened the presentation of the central bank’s “Economic Forecasts in New Aquitaine”. Alongside Jean-François Clédel, president of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), she summarized the current situation of the regional economy as follows: In an uncertain political and geopolitical context and global trade in changing, businesses in the region are still moving forward, but they are suffering. ”

The morale of the leaders is low

A suffering confirmed by the opinion survey carried out by the regional CCI. “The morale of leaders is low, confirms Jean-François Clédel. Only 22% believe in the future of the French economy, which is 6% less than in 2024. Concern is growing. ”

Lots of questions, few answers

Concern also for Yohann, quality controller at OI Glass in Vayres, in Gironde. Employed for sixteen years by the glass manufacturer, he is closely observing the ongoing restructuring plan which has already seen the American group close the Vergèze factory (Gard). “Here, in Vayres, an oven has been shut down and a production reorganization plan is underway. Of the 243 positions on the site, between reassignments, recruitments and departures, 87 jobs will disappear, including mine, he says with a sigh. I have two children and a house to pay for. ”

In the region, other major players in industry or commerce such as Gifi in Lot-et-Garonne seem to have “moved a few vertebrae” and are worrying their employees and their territories. This is the case of the promising ACC joint venture which has linked Stellantis, TotalEnergies and Mercedes for four years. The European battery manufacturer for electric vehicles already employs 1,000 people in the region between Bruges, with its R&D center of 800 employees, and its pilot plant which employs 200 in Nersac (16).

ACC, Gifi, Condat, MMT-B, Camus… To be monitored.

Its Gigafactory in Douvrin in the North is behind its objectives. The joint venture must reduce its costs. Last March, a collective contractual termination was recorded: it concerns 100 positions, Bruges and the Parisian headquarters are concerned, not Nersac. Concern also for the former largest private employer in Dordogne which still has 202 employees: the Condat paper mills (read elsewhere). They had guaranteed activity until September 17. What will Lecta, the Spanish owner group, do with it? Mystery at this hour. What will also happen to MMT-B (Blanquefort), the former Getrag-Ford factory which by the end of the year will have eliminated 193 of its 420 positions. It is struggling to find alternatives to the planned collapse of transmission production for Ford. More modest but no less emblematic.Camus, the Cognac merchant, cuts a third of its hundred employees.

The world has changed for all these iconic companies in the region. A world that asks a lot of questions provides few answers, but it is still too early to say whether, outside of aeronautics, the “backbone” of the regional economy threatens to become blocked or not.