Worker’s Strike at French Ronal Plant

Workers at Ronal’s plant in St. Avold, France, have gone on strike in a protest against restructuring plans. The aluminium cast wheel manufacturers angered employees after using redundancies as a way of cutting costs. Part of the restructuring programme would have meant producing wheels for the high-quality aftermarket segment, but would have led to decreases in annual output

Ronal was forced into restructuring in order to secure the location on a long-term basis because the costs at the French plant were significantly higher than at the company’s Polish locations. Representative negotiating on behalf of the workers refused to accept the redundancies and, as the respective positions hardened so the tensions escalated, and it was not long before the picket lines were formed.

Situated close to the German border, the plant has an annual capacity of 500,000 wheels, making it one of the company’s smaller plants. The factory has produced wheels for companies including MCC (Smart), Smart Brabus and Ford.

Although final decision over the future of the factory has not yet been made however, this magazine was told by a member of the management that the St. Avold plant might still be closed, although an amicable agreement is also possible.