PARIS, (APP/AFP) – At least 2,500 European
employees of General Electric (GE) protested in Paris on Friday against the US industrial conglomerate’s restructuring plans, which include 6,500 job losses throughout the continent.
The demonstrators came to the French capital from throughout Europe
with 700 from Germany and hundreds more from Italy, Poland, Belgium and France itself.
A large number were from French company Alstom, four months after GE
acquired its power and grid businesses.
Other protests took place in Germany, Spain, Austria. Belgium, the
Czech Republic, Sweden and Switzerland, according to the international union
federation IndustriALL.
To the sounds of whistles, klaxons and rattles, the Paris protesters
brandished banners reading “Stop the massacre of jobs” and, in English, “Keep your word, stop job cuts!”
GE is most of the way through a restructuring to hone its focus on
its key traditional industrial businesses, which include railway equipment and renewable energy like wind turbines, and to grow in newer sectors such as health care and energy management.
In January the company announced plans to cut up to 6,500 jobs in
Europe in the energy units it acquired from Alstom last year, drawing a fierce union response and warnings from the French government.
International News
2,500 GE workers protest in Paris against restructuring
