Goodyear ‘boss napping’ in France: Appeals process commences

The appeals process for eight former Goodyear employees accused of taking two company managers hostage in France began last week, some nine months after a first instance court sentenced each to 24 months’ imprisonment for their involvement in the incident. While the original sentence requires the eight to serve nine months in prison and the following 15 months of the two-year sentence on probation, the public prosecution is being called upon to retain the sentence yet allow for the entire 24 months to be served as a suspended custodial sentence.

The Amiens Court of Appeal will give its verdict on 11 January 2017. The start of the appeals process has been accompanied by union-organised demonstrations that attracted thousands of participants. Five of the eight defendants are ‘Délégués’, or union delegates.

The eight defendants were employed at Goodyear’s Amiens Nord tyre plant in France, which closed in 2014, and were sentenced for the ‘boss napping’ of plant production manager Michel Dheilly and human resources director Bernard Glaser hostage for some 30 hours in the first week of 2014. The two managers and Goodyear have since withdrawn their legal complaints.