Three weeks before the first round of the presidential election, the announcement of the safeguard procedure for the Scopelec company might well cause cold sweats in the corridors of Bercy. This Orange’s subcontractor for the installation of optical fiber with 3,600 employees, made this announcement as it lost a myriad of contracts with the giant Orange.
“By a judgment of March 17, 2022, the Lyon commercial court decided to place Scopelec SA in safeguard proceedings,” the company said in a press release. “As of April 1, 2022, unless the situation evolves in a favorable direction, more than 1,000 employees might find themselves without activity”, also warned the company. The interministerial committee for industrial restructuring (CIRI) at Bercy has been closely following this particularly hot file as the presidential election approaches for several months now.
65% fewer subcontracts
Scopelec, the largest cooperative group in France, lost 65% of its subcontracting contracts with Orange in November 2021, following a call for tenders. This loss, which should take effect on March 31, will cause it to lose around 40% of its turnover, estimated at 475 million euros in 2021.
The leaders of Scopelec had publicly alerted in January to the risks weighing on the company, asking that solutions be found to allow it to pass this difficult course. But “in almost 4 months, Scopelec has only received partial and inconclusive answers”, regretted the company in its press release.
The safeguard procedure is aimed at companies in difficulty and which are not yet insolvent. The objective is to facilitate the reorganization of the company to enable it to maintain its economic activity, the jobs and to ensure the settlement of its debts.
According to the website of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the backup procedure generally ends with the establishment of a backup plan. But it can also lead to the placement of the company in receivership or liquidation.
Service quality issues according to Orange
After Scopelec’s public cry of alarm, Orange had hinted that the loss of subcontracts was linked to quality of service problems. “After several warnings in recent years, the quality of the services offered by certain current service providers, including Scopelec, which has received several dozen formal notices due to breaches in certain territories, has led Orange to review the allocation of (geographical) zones. entrusted to each” of its subcontractors, said Orange. Asked by The gallery at the end of January, Nicolas Dieudonné, member of the supervisory board of Scopelec and technical infrastructure manager had sounded the alarm:
“There may have been a few dozen complaints regarding the volume displayed. We are in the market indicators, we do not pretend to be better or worse. There is no debate regarding the quality of our work, today the debate is regarding saving our jobs. There is a real risk of death from Scopelec. When you are amputated by 40% of your turnover, out of a total of 470 million euros, this weakens the whole group.
Scopelec remains one of the “six major companies selected” for the installation of optical fiber and the maintenance of the copper network, the French giant also said. In its press release on Friday, Scopelec acknowledges having “an acceptable contractual framework” for the recovery of some of its employees concerned by the new holders of lost contracts, “with resumption of seniority and maintenance of salary conditions”. Scopelec also indicates that “negotiations remain in progress” on “the allocation of temporary additional volumes” at the end of the contracts.
But on the other hand, “it seems” that it is “impossible to raise” the question of “financial support” for the restructuring of the group or “compensation for the damage suffered by Scopelec”, he regretted .
“We must now, in this new legal framework, assert our rights in the interest of Scopelec and its employees,” said the chairman of the executive board Thomas Foppiani, quoted in the press release.
(with agencies)
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