More Poitou-Charentes job losses as recession starts to bite

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Two days after their rivals Redoute announced 672 redundancies, troubled Niort-based mail-order retailer CAMIF Particulaires and CAMIF SA (who own 35% of the company) this week filed for voluntary liquidation, with almost 1000 employees fearing for their jobs. 

CAMIF Particulaires has been in decline for some years, with year-on-year losses since 2004, and it had already announced its intention to trim the workforce back in August. Whilst the company was already in a vulnerable state, the current global financial crisis has taken it to breaking point.  Sales figures for September were down by 35% against projections, leaving the company short of 8 million euros.

The CAMIF Particulaires arm employs 780 people in Niort, and CAMIF SA the historical head-office based in Chauray (Deux Sevres) employs an additional 200.  Around 500 employees were gathered together at the Niort premises to be given the bad news, with letters of redundancy expected to be issued as early as the end of November.  Segolene Royal has demanded that the government intervene financially in the situation, saying that the employees and their families deserve the same kind of solidarity that has been shown recently to the troubled French banks. 

A bankruptcy court in Niort will decide the final fate of the two companies early next week, but the outlook for CAMIF Particulaires looks increasingly bleak.  CAMIF SA however may live to fight another day, as it has interests in a handful of other (profitable) companies.

News of the demise of CAMIF comes at the same time as Deshoulieres, the biggest porcelaine manufacturer in France, announced 188 job losses at sites across the country, with 82 of those redundancies coming at the Chauvigny factory, representing a huge blow to this part of the Vienne.

The situation for the region has been grim in recent months, with the announced closure of the ecole de gendarmerie in Chatellerault coming on the back of troubled times for the towns other key employers in the motor-industry.  Key businesses such as Valeo and Magneti-Marelli who supply parts to the automotive industry have put in place ‘technical' redundancies, by temporarily laying-off employees for a number of days between now and December.

Meanwhile, the housing market is suffering the effects of the UK market reversal, with fewer British buyers across many regions of France.  The mid-market (200k€ to 500k€) is said to have virtually dried-up, with the lower end of the market only buoyed by investors looking for a safe alternative to putting their capital in the bank.