When he discovered, ” wake “on Monday November 27 in the media, that Casino hypermarkets and supermarkets “were for sale”Michel Feniou, 61, went to work in the Marseille La Valentine hypermarket “the lump in the stomach”. For him, who has spent his entire career in this 14,500 square meter store, where he is a salesman in the household appliances, hi-fi and telephone departments, it was “the hammer blow”. He entered there after leaving the army to get a job “temporarily”before getting married, then “the temporary lasted”, while he started a family, bought his house and finished paying it off. So much so that today, after thirty-nine years spent in this store where 230 people work, it is “very attached”.
Like him, 16,000 people work in the group’s hypermarkets and supermarkets. Everyone is worried about a rapid dismantling before its takeover by the consortium made up of Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky, Fimalac (the holding company of Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière) and the British fund Attestor. After several days of negotiations and suspense, Casino management announced, Monday, December 18, that it had entered into exclusive negotiations with Intermarché and Auchan for the sale of supermarkets. Stores which will then be divided between the two buyers.
But, for the brand’s employees, this announcement represents much more than a simple change of ownership. Especially since Casino has the image of a socially benevolent group. The proof is that the average seniority is 14 years for employees and 20 years for managers, much higher than the sector average (10.8 years for employees and 15.8 years for managers in the branch in 2021, according to the latest available data).
“We have decent working conditions, even if we are still fighting with management to have betterrecognizes Mr. Feniou, who became a CGT delegate for the store he joined in 1984. The problem is that, depending on which brand takes us back, [Intermarché ou Auchan], We risk losing all of this. »
“All these little things”
For Maxime, 39, who works in the fruit and vegetable section of a Casino in the western quarter of France and wishes to remain anonymous, the choice has already been made. If it is Auchan who takes over his store, he will stay, but, if it is a member of Intermarché, ” no way ” : “I know how it goes. » He previously worked in an E.Leclerc for several years, which he left of his own accord because “the working conditions were the factory” : “At independents, like E.Leclerc or Intermarché, the store owner does what he wants. »
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