US tyre chief: French too workshy for takeover

AN AMERICAN business leader has dismissed a French government plea to take over an ailing tyre factory by claiming he would have to be stupid to rescue a plant where staff only work three hours a day.

In a crushing condemnation of the French work ethic, Maurice Taylor, chief executive of US tyre-maker Titan International, told France’s industry minister he had no interest in saving the factory. His comments, contained in a letter to the minister which was published yesterday in French newspapers.

Mr Taylor, nicknamed The Grizz for his tough negotiating style (rather like a grizzly bear) wrote: “The French workforce gets paid high wages but works only three hours. They get one hour for breaks and lunch, talk for three and work for three.

“I told this to the French union workers to their faces. They told me that’s the French way! Titan is going to buy a Chinese tyre company or an Indian one, pay less than one euro per hour wage and ship all the tyres France needs. You can keep the so-called workers.”

The letter, dated 8 February, was addressed to Arnaud Montebourg, industry minister under socialist president François Hollande, and written in English. Business daily Les Echos published it online and the ministry confirmed it was genuine.

Mr Montebourg’s office said the letter was an authentic response to Paris consulting Titan as a possible buyer of US group Goodyear’s factory in Amiens, in the north of the country.

Despite having per head productivity levels that rank among the best in Europe, some economists blame France’s rigid hiring and firing laws for a long industrial decline that has dented exports. Many also fault France’s 35-hour work week.

Goodyear’s Amiens plant employs 1,250 workers, who have been resisting demands that they work more shifts or accept lay-offs. The government said in January that the site faced imminent closure.