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The only takeover offer plans to lay off nearly a thousand employees


The future of the Alinea furniture brand looks bleak. – ALLILI MOURAD / SIPA

A single proposal for the continuation of the activity of the Alinéa furniture brand, in receivership, has been submitted by the current shareholders. But it provides for a halving of its workforce of some 2,000 employees, we learned from the unions and the company. The offer from the current shareholders of the company headed by Alexis Mulliez, whose family holds the Auchan group, is the “most serious”: it “would keep nine of the 26 stores” in France but “would separate” from 1,000 people, lamented Eddy Chhlang, representative of the
CGT union.

“This is the only offer to maintain the brand. Without it, it would be liquidation, ”argued for its part the communication department of the brand whose head office is in Aubagne, near from Marseille. Stores in the south of France and a few in other regions would be kept, according to Eddy Chhlang. The brands of low-cost items of all kinds, Gifi and La Foir’Fouille, as well as the distributor Lidl, are also among the companies that have submitted offers to take over a few stores but without maintaining Alinéa’s activity there, according to unions.

Possible reclassifications

In insolvency, the company placed in receivership by the Marseille commercial court on May 13, had declared a liability of 12 million euros due, with a turnover of 257 million euros for 62 million euros. euros of net loss. The management had explained these poor results by the movement of “yellow vests”, then by the strikes linked to the pension reform and finally by the health crisis linked to Covid-19 which had “put a stop to the efforts undertaken”. Founded in 1989 in Avignon, Alinéa, owned by Auchan Holding until 2017, was bought by Alexis Mulliez and has a workforce of 1,974 employees, including 1,895 on permanent contracts.

Negotiations are still underway, “several hundred offers of reclassification in the signs of the Mulliez family association and with buyers” of the sold stores are proposed, told AFP communication from Alinéa. The CGT evokes internal reclassifications, in the Auchan Holding, but also external (Décathlon and Leroy Merlin): “Today, there are 650 positions to be filled in France in the group, but positions very far from our core business. , very few sales consultants and logisticians, ”said Eddy Chhlang.

“The administrators said that a hundred positions could be saved thanks to a reclassification”, reported the latter, deploring the “lack of communication” of the management. A hearing at the Marseille commercial court is scheduled for August 30.

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