美國企業家帝坦國際公司主席兼首席執行官莫裏斯∙泰勒
一名美國企業家給法國部長的一封信成為20日法國媒體追蹤報道的主題。美國企業家帝坦國際公司主席兼首席執行官莫裏斯∙泰勒（Maurice Taylor）在給工業振興部部長蒙特布爾信函中批評法國職工好吃懶做。
法國政府本希望這家美國公司能夠接手陷入困境的法國固特異(Goodyear)輪胎廠。法國部長是經常在媒體上拋頭露麵的工業振興部部長蒙特布爾。
莫裏斯∙泰勒在信中寫的大意是：我多次前往法國西北部亞眠(Amiens) 固特異輪胎廠。法國職工拿的工資高，但他們一天隻工作三個小時。工人每天用於吃午飯和休息的時間有一個小時，然後聊天聊三個小時，幹活的時間僅剩三個小時。我把這些情況講給工會人士聽。工會人士告訴我，法國就是這樣。
您在信件中的意思是讓帝坦國際公司為接手工廠展開談判，您真的會以為我們是這般愚蠢嗎？！美國帝坦公司有錢也有技術，可以造出好的輪胎。但法國工會如此不切實際，如同瘋子一樣，這是因為他們有法國政府給他們撐腰。帝坦會買中國或印度一個輪胎製造廠，這樣每個小時可以少付一歐元。我們在亞洲製造的各式各樣的輪胎可以出口到法國來，因為法國有這個需要。您可以自己留著這些所謂的工人。帝坦對北亞眠輪胎廠不感興趣。
此封信件被法國《回聲報》公布於眾之後，法國共產黨和工會組織發表公報，表示這就是美國資本主義。
莫裏斯∙泰勒20日在接手法新社專訪時說：“蒙特布爾讓我跟工會人士展開談判。他的這種提議簡直是異想天開。”泰勒還說，法國政府應該為所有來法國投資的外資鋪上紅地毯。如果不是這樣的話，早晚，米其林也會把他們的工廠遷往亞洲或其他區域。
法國工業振興部部長蒙特布爾在回複泰勒的信件中表示，泰勒的言辭即極端又帶有侮辱性，它展示了泰勒對法國現狀的全然不知。
U.S. CEO Blasts French Work Habits
By GABRIELE PARUSSINI
PARIS—The chief executive of a U.S. company that had considered buying a
tire factory in northern France delivered a blistering critique of French
work habits, writing to France's industry minister that he would be "stupid"
to operate in a country where workers get high wages for little actual work
.
Maurice Taylor, the CEO of Titan International Inc., TWI -2.60% criticized
France's labor culture, saying that French unions and the government do
nothing but talk. His letter, published on Wednesday in French newspaper Les
Echos, highlights the danger that President François Hollande's labor
reform plans, including measures that would allow companies to cut working
hours and wages when production slows, may be too slow-paced for foreign
investors.
Titan had expressed interest in acquiring an unprofitable plant put up for
sale by tire-maker Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., GT -1.56% but the company
pulled out of negotiations last year after workers, headed by the communist-
backed CGT union, refused to work longer hours to save jobs.
In a Feb. 8 letter responding to an approach by Industry Minister Arnaud
Montebourg, Mr. Taylor bluntly replied: "Sir, your letter states that you
want Titan to start a discussion…How stupid do you think we are?"
A Titan spokeswoman said Mr. Taylor wasn't immediately available to comment.
Titan had expressed interest in acquiring an unprofitable plant put up for
sale by tire-maker Goodyear Tire & Rubber, but the company pulled out of
negotiations last year.
Mr. Montebourg dismissed the criticism on Wednesday, replying: "Your
comments, which are as extremist as they are insulting, display a perfect
ignorance of our country, France."
He pointed out that France is home to 20,000 foreign companies that employ
about 2 million French people and account for a third of its industrial
exports.
Mr. Taylor's critique—while harsher than many businesses would endorse—
reflects broader concerns about France's industrial competitiveness. Tough
labor laws make it expensive to fire permanent workers. Closing factories
can lead to massive political backlash.
The government has moved to change things, and pushed employers to reach
agreement with unions on more flexible labor conditions. It is set to send a
bill to parliament next month that would let companies cut working hours
and wages when times are tough, lift some legal uncertainties related to
layoffs and limit the time within which employees can appeal redundancy
decisions.
Mr. Taylor wrote that France risks losing all of its industrial business and
told a damning tale of the company's efforts to buy the tire plant in the
northern town of Amiens.
"The French workforce gets paid high wages but works only three hours. They
get one hour for breaks and lunch, talk for three and work for three," Mr.
Taylor wrote. "I told this to the French union workers to their faces. They
told me that's the French way!"
The troubles at Goodyear's tire plant started in 2007 when the Akron, Ohio,
company decided to restructure its two production sites in the town.
Goodyear asked the staff to change production shifts so that the plant could
churn out tires for agriculture machines and cars around the clock. After
workers rejected the proposal, the management unveiled a plan to cut 402
jobs. Workers sued the company arguing the layoffs were unlawful.
In 2009 as the auto market was diving globally, Goodyear withdrew the job
cut plan and shortly afterward began negotiations with Quincy, Ill.-based
Titan to take over Goodyear's agriculture machine tire plants in Europe,
including Amiens Nord, said Goodyear spokesman Catherine Dumoutier. The
management came up with a new restructuring project, which involved 817 job
cuts, but failed to secure court approval.
Mr. Taylor visited the Amiens plant a couple of times but got a chilly
reception from CGT workers, who demanded that their jobs be secured for
seven years. "We were hostile because we didn't believe in his project,"
said Michael Wamen, CGT's representative for the plant.
Titan pulled out of negotiations in September, citing the "heavy social
climate" in France, said a spokeswoman for Mr. Montebourg. The minister
spent months trying to persuade the CGT to accept Titan's proposal, and at
the end of the year told Mr. Taylor that conditions had improved, and that
he could come back to the negotiating table, the spokeswoman added.
Meanwhile, Goodyear decided to shut the plant. As it winds down operations,
it has cut car tire output by 90% to around 2,000 tires a day from the 21,
000 the plant could produce at full capacity.
Still, French labor law obliges the company to keep all the workers employed
, which means many of them don't work more than a couple of hours a day,
while still getting full salary, a situation that appeared to enrage Mr.
Taylor.
"Titan is the one with the money and the talent to produce tires. What does
the crazy union have?" he asked.
In his letter, Mr. Taylor predicts that five years from now French tire
maker Michelin—the second-largest in the world after Japan's Bridgestone
Corp. 5108.TO -0.39% —"won't be able to produce tires in France." A
Michelin spokeswoman declined to comment.
Mr. Montebourg hit back in his response to the U.S. businessman. "Can I
remind you that Titan…is 20 times smaller than Michelin…and 35 times less
profitable?" Mr. Montebourg retorted in his letter. "That shows how much
Titan could have learned and gained from establishing itself in France."
—Inti Landauro and Sam Schechner contributed to this article.
