EDF puts recruitment on hold as nuclear hopes for massive hiring

It was at a time when French industry was preparing for massive hiring in the nuclear industry, for the extension of current reactors and with a view to six new projects, that the electrician EDF decided… to freeze its recruitment. According to the online media article The Informed, published on Wednesday 12 April, the human resources department internally requested an inventory by sector (nuclear, hydraulic, thermal, wind, etc.). The suspension could run for several weeks. The time to arbitrate between the more or less priority positions of EDF SA, the main component of the group of some 137,000 employees in France.

EDF recognizes ” a moratorium “, without further details. Behind the scenes, its leaders put this break on the account of degraded finances. The 2022 financial year was that of a record loss (17.9 billion euros), firstly due to a drop in nuclear production. But also, according to the company, because of the government’s tariff shield. Because the state shareholder has forced it to sell off even more electricity than expected to its competitors, in the name of regulated access to historical nuclear electricity (Arenh).

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Renewable strikes against the pension reform lead to further reductions in energy production (nuclear, hydraulic, thermal). A loss of around one billion euros since March, according to the company’s estimate reported by the Reuters news agency, then confirmed in World.

The vagueness dominates

Originally, the energy company had planned between 3,000 and 3,500 recruitments for 2023 in the country, still according to Reuters. The staff abstains from commenting on this volume, idem on the number of hires made in the first quarter or on the share devoted to nuclear.

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On the side of the employees, vagueness dominates. “I see it as a management maneuver, an attempt to counter-fire during the movement against pension reform”reacts Philippe Page Le Mérour, CGT secretary of the central social and economic committee of EDF. “The official body of staff representatives has had no information to date, except that read in the press”, he adds. Thursday, April 13, a quarter of the staff supposed to be present (excluding holidays, for example) was still on strike, underlines the inter-union. The communication department prefers to mention a rate of 20%, taking into account the total workforce.

“Freezing hiring really makes no sense given our industrial challenges” – Amélie Henri, CFE-CGC central union representative

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