AkzoNobel to cut French workforce despite €22m investment
The paint and coatings manufacturer AkzoNobel has outlined a plan that includes a €22m investment to position its Montataire site in northern France as a flagship location for decorative paint production.
The firm has a global portfolio that includes the coatings brands International (Interlux in North America), Sea Hawk, Intersleek and Awlgrip, as well as the global domestic paint brand Dulux.
AkzoNobel says the proposed changes are expected to result in a ‘net workforce adjustment’ in France, with up to 211 employees being laid off and 29 jobs created. Implementation of the plan is scheduled to occur gradually from May 2025 through to the end of 2026. AkzoNobel says it is undergoing consultation procedures with local social partners.
The company currently employs approximately 1,300 people in France.
The plan focuses on streamlining operations, including reorganisation of the commercial and support functions and adjustments to the distribution network. Changes in the distribution network involve transferring some outlets to independent partners and closing others.
In September 2024, AkzoNobel confirmed it plans to cut around 2,000 jobs this year worldwide as it attempts to cut its costs. The Dutch group has operations in 150 countries. The AkzoNobel layoffs will affect more than five per cent of its 35,700 global employees, although the firm has not supplied further information about which countries will be impacted.
AkzoNobel’s ‘Industrial Excellence programme’ also includes closures of manufacturing sites in Groot-Ammers (Netherlands), Cork (Ireland), and Lusaka (Zambia) in 2024, with production from these locations transferred to other sites in the respective regions.
Despite continued inflation and rising costs in the building materials sector, the group reported that pre-tax profits rose by over a quarter in the first half of 2024 to €496m.
