Home workers questioning jobs, supply-chain havoc weigh on French
recovery
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[July 05, 2021]
By Sarah White and Leigh Thomas
AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (Reuters) - A shortage of qualified workers,
doubts raised by working from home and supply-chain havoc are proving
problematic for some companies as they try to ride France's recovery
from the pandemic but struggle to fill vacancies, business leaders said.
Less than a year before France's next presidential election, Emmanuel
Macron's chances of re-election will partly hinge on the strength of a
rebound beginning to benefit some of France's big industries, from
luxury goods makers to energy exporters.
At an annual economic conference in southern France, some pointed to
persistent labour problems, including a shortage of qualified workers,
which had now been aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic as bosses try to
meet resurging demand.
The CEO of one major French manufacturer said that his company had 150
vacancies advertised at two French factories, and no resumes were coming
in.
"The crisis may have anaesthetised people's relationship to work," he
told Reuters on the sidelines of the Rencontres Economiques conference
in Aix-en-Provence. But the recruitment problem was more global, the
executive added, saying he had encountered similar problems in the
United States.
As the outbreak spread across France early last year, the government
rolled out one of the most generous state-financed furlough schemes in
Europe while millions of office workers moved to working from home.
While people had at first enjoyed the experience, they had started to
question their relationship with colleagues and their companies, the
head of France's postal service La Poste said.
"The end of traditional contracted labour is a real question on the
table," Philippe Wahl told one panel at the conference.
One company found that 20% of its workforce was not even bothering to
regularly log into the corporate computer network at the height of
lockdowns, one senior executive said he had heard.
[to top of second column] |
People wearing protective face masks walk at the financial and
business district of La Defense in Nanterre as work rules have been
relaxed with teleworking requirements gradually being lifted amid
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in France, June 10,
2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
Nearly half construction companies, 41% of service companies and a quarter of
industrial companies are struggling to recruit workers, according to the Bank of
France's latest business climate survey.
More fundamental issues were at play than the COVID-19 disruption, some
businesses argued. Ross McInnes, the chairman of aero engine and equipment maker
Safran, said France's school system needed fixing.
"All of our companies are struggling to recruit for jobs that are pretty well
paid," he told one panel discussion.
Macron, a former investment banker, was backed enthusiastically by many business
leaders in the last election. He has since passed some labour reforms, making it
easier to hire and fire staff.
Manufacturing and construction firms have the added headache of simply getting
hold of materials they need to meet clients' orders.
Half of French construction firms and 44% of industrial companies were facing
supply problems, with the rate as high as 70% for carmakers, the Bank of
France's survey found.
"The supply chain is a total mess," the French manufacturing CEO said, adding
that his firm had 23 separate task forces set up to tackle specific sourcing
problems whereas the norm was one or two. The bottlenecks could last until the
end of 2022, he said.
A global shortage of transport ships and the metal containers they carry was
making it difficult and expensive to receive material from overseas, forcing
some to resort to flying in supplies at a higher cost, he said.
(Editing by Nick Macfie)
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