The Stellantis factory in Sochaux (Doubs) is facing major logistical problems and has been producing more cars than it can send for several days: its parking lots are completely saturated, we learned on Friday from management and union sources. According to sources, there is talk of the presence of several thousand vehicles waiting in the parking lots of the Sochaux factory, which for example produced 1,100 cars on Thursday alone, mainly Peugeot 3008 and 5008.
“We already had a supplier problem (for semiconductors, editor’s note), now it’s shipping problems,” breathes Jean-Luc Ternet, CFTC union representative. “It’s nonsense”, comments Jérôme Boussard, from the CGT, when Force Ouvrière denounces “an omnipresent situation”. For its part, the management of Stellantis Sochaux points out that the logistics networks face “port congestion and instability of rail transport”.
Logistics reorganization
The automaker is also undergoing “a reorganization of (its) downward logistics,” adds a spokeswoman for Stellantis’ Sochaux factory. “The goal is to move from a unique transportation-based system (with Gefco, editor’s note) to a new organization that calls on more diversified players for the sake of performance,” she explains. “In Sochaux, in addition to the daily monitoring of truck and wagon chartering, we have set up a collection service directly from the dealers,” says the Doubs factory.
New areas are being secured to guarantee storage, even if Stellantis is “on track to break even”, reports factory management, which says it is exploring “innovative solutions”. This phenomenon affects all French factories and all manufacturers, adds a French spokesman for Stellantis. In Sochaux, the phenomenon is accentuated because the site is “a distribution center for Peugeot, Opel and Citroën vehicles from other European factories,” adds the Doubs factory.
union fears
The workers’ representatives fear above all that this situation will turn against the workers. Force Ouvrière and the CFTC fear being put into partial activity due to lack of space to store vehicles. And to remember the usual deadlines: that the stocks be at zero before the end of the year, because “management does not want to pay taxes on the stocks”, explains Éric Peultier, from FO, in a press release.
Source: BFM TV
