Siemens managers 'boss-napped' in France

Employees at a French branch of the German industrial giant, Siemens, have taken two managers hostage in a protest over proposed job cuts.

Workers at Siemens VAI Metals Technologies were upset at plans to cut the current 600 jobs at two plants in the Rhone-Alpes region to 360. Another factory at Saint-Chamond, near Lyon, is to be shut down entirely.

The two managers who have been taken prisoner are the financial director and the head of personnel.

"Indecent" offer

A local union leader, Georges Boncompain, told reporters that his colleagues found the reduction in staffing levels too high and the proposed amount of compensation, "indecent."

The French industry minister, Christian Estrosi, condemned the incident at Siemens VAI and called on the workers to release the managers immediately. "There can be no negotiation while there is violence," he told France Inter radio.

"Boss-napping" in France is very much in mode. Over the past year there have been a number of similar incidents where disgruntled workers have held managers to publicize their displeasure at restructuring plans. Senior staff at various well-known international groups such as Sony, Caterpillar and 3M, have been held against their will.

In spite of French President Sarkozy's reputation for being short-tempered with industrial disputes, the boss-nappers are often successful in getting their demands answered.

td/Reuters/dpa/ap
Editor: Michael Lawton