U.S. group Tupperware closes French factory that had 235 staff

[February 28, 2018]  ORLEANS, France (Reuters) - U.S company Tupperware <TUP.N> has decided to shut down a French factory employing 235 staff, unions said on Wednesday, highlighting challenges faced by the French government over tackling unemployment even as the country's economy improves.

The factory being closed down is located at Joue-les-Tours, a town toward the west of France, south of Paris.

Boosted by low interest rates, a global economic rebound and high business confidence, France has only in the last year managed to emerge from a decade of low growth and weak job creation that has left nearly 3.5 million people out of work.

Last month, Tupperware took a big charge in its fourth quarter that wiped out profits and forecast weak demand in the current quarter, causing its shares to slump.

(Reporting by Mourad Guichard; Writing by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by John Irish)

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