19 October –Paris (FRA): Guilbert France, a subsidiary of Office Depot, has informed its employees of a restructuring project that will affect a significant number of jobs.
In a French language internal memo dated 12 December that OPI has seen, Philippe Ferragu, managing director of Guilbert France, speaks of the "difficulties" Guilbert France has experienced "in its European markets and particularly in France in its contract activities, mail order and retail" over the last three years, and its "plunging sales" as a consequence.
In order to "safeguard its future", the company says it will undergo a restructuring project that will involve a reduction in costs; the centralisation of merchandising at the European level; and a reduction in the number of branches. This, says the memo, will result in the loss of 93 jobs, 76 transfers and the creation of 21 new posts.
Meanwhile, a report published in French publication Usine Nouvelle on Friday – which quotes Sylvie Lecomte Drecq, central officer for Guilbert/Office Depot as a source – states that Guilbert’s 12 branches have already been reduced to five, and that the restructuring will result in 169 redundancies.
The company pledged in its memo to help employees affected find alternative solutions.
