The demonstration by the employees of Nice-Matin last Friday (some symbolically played dead in front of the headquarters, taping numbers from 1 to 183 on their backs, representing the number of potential layoffs as part of the restructuring planned by management) highlights both an economic and a principled issue.
Let’s recount the facts as they are known to date: The media group* is running a deficit and the owners want to save around 14 million euros in labor costs. The company generates over 100 million in annual revenue, but according to unions, management has announced a 4.7 million deficit for the end of the year.
Moreover, based on the same source, the shareholders Groupe Hersant Mรฉdia and Bernard Tapie “would have” decided to suspend payments of charges, taxes, VAT, and retirement contributions until December, contrary to commitments made before the State. In this case, there would be an additional 4 million euros in debts.
In short, the shareholders are seeking investors, but only after finalizing a cost-reduction plan to be able to present a balanced, if not positive, business plan.
However, why not imagine something even better from another perspective? First capitalize the company, then reorganize it, and finally seek those potential investors.
According to the famous capitalist principle, when a company needs capital, isn’t it the shareholders who should step up? If not, who? It’s too easy to pass the problem onto the employees!
Moreover, one cannot say that neither Hersant nor Tapie lack financial means: The former received a sumptuous gift from banks (oh, how generous!) with the cancellation of 165 out of 215 million euros of debt when taking over the media group, which was already his. A perfect operation (for him), who could do better?
The latter, likely has a small war chest safely tucked away in trusts located in tax havens (oh pardon, we call that tax optimization) following the notorious “arbitration” that allowed him, in a surprising and now contested manner, to recover a rather substantial sum.
So, dear shareholders, why not do your duty and grow your interest in the company that is yours? Why should your employees pay on your behalf?
Of course, a company must maintain financial balance, but if this media group was in such poor condition, why present a recovery plan to the Commercial Court, only to announce a new crisis state and a major social plan a few months later?
Isn’t Bernard Tapie the same person who gives advice to everyone? And isn’t Philippe Hersant the same leader of the same group that he managed so well… to the point of ending up under judicial administration?
Why then this tragic comedy?
We wouldn’t be interested in this case if we didn’t hold high regard for the value of a newspaper, which is not just a commercial product (and as such must adhere to sound economic operation rules) but also a tool of information. In this particular case, it is the only and unique regional newspaper of the Azur region.
Should we remind that information is one of the conditions necessary to claim true democracy, which, as explained in political science texts, is not summed up just by the ability to vote but to do so in full freedom, without constraint, and… well-informed!
So, the song ‘I Will Survive’ that the protesters sang at their sit-in last Friday is not just theirs, but that of all the citizens of the Azur region.
Tomorrow, there will be another meeting between management and the unions. We express our solidarity with all the employees of Nice Matin by loudly stating: YES to responsible capitalism, NO to vulture capitalists!
The Facebook group: Nice Matin Resistance
