This is a rare event within the LVMH group. The CFDT and the CGT call on Louis Vuitton employees to observe walkouts, Thursday, February 10, in five of the eighteen factories of the brand, in Asnières (Hauts-de-Seine), Saint-Donat (Ardèche), Sarras (Ardèche ), Condé (Indre) and Issoudun (Indre). The union representatives have resolved to this movement while the management of Louis Vuitton, the main subsidiary of the LVMH group, is considering “a new agreement on working time to reduce overtime”says one of them.
The CFDT union specifies that it opposes “annualization of working time” that the management “wants to impose”. In addition, elected “demanding a salary increase”recalling that “the hourly rate of a Louis Vuitton employee with fifteen years of seniority” is of “14 euros”. Incidentally, the union denounces “a very different reality from the bling-bling side that people imagine” pointing “the pressure exerted on the employees” and assigning the “increasing absenteeism rate” to “far too high rates” required in these leather goods workshops.
“A very different reality on the bling-bling side”
Asked about this, Louis Vuitton specified that the agreement on working time envisaged must “result in a reduction in weekly working time from 35 hours to 33 hours” and at one “average salary increase of 150 euros per month”. He also reminds “lead an advantageous remuneration policy which allows its employees in the workshops to be paid an average of 18 months’ salary per year”. The subsidiary, which employs 4,800 people in these eighteen workshops, “intends to calmly continue this dialogue to reach an agreement”.
At the end of November, Sephora, another subsidiary of LVMH, had experienced a strike movement shortly before the start of the mandatory annual negotiations (NAO). This time, it is the largest of the subsidiaries of LVMH, a group whose sales exceeded 64 billion euros in 2021, after a jump of 44% compared to 2020. Louis Vuitton would represent 17.7 billion euros. euros in turnover in 2021, according to estimates by stock market analyst Citi. It is also the most profitable activity of the French group. Known for its made-in-France leather goods, which Citi says account for three-quarters of its global sales, the brand has seen strong growth in recent years, notably due to the surge in handbag sales in China.
You have 22.61% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.