The car manufacturer intervenes to avoid the immediate liquidation of Fonderie de Bretagne and finance the observation period while awaiting a possible buyer.
Renault, historic founder of the Fonderie de Bretagne (FDB), is about to release 4.5 million euros to help the Caudan factory (Morbihan), currently in receivership. This intervention aims to avoid the immediate liquidation of the site and to guarantee the payment of salaries as well as the continuation of the activity during the observation period, while waiting for a buyer.
A critical situation for the Fonderie de Bretagne
Fonderie de Bretagne, based in Caudan, has 247 employees. The factory, formerly specialized in cast iron parts for automobiles, was to begin manufacturing shells this year. Last year, Europlasma took over FDB, before placing the company in receivership at the beginning of July for cessation of payments. The foundry had until July 17 to find three million euros.
According to information from France Inter, Renault is willing to participate and release the sum necessary to avoid liquidation. When selling the site, the manufacturer undertook to take part in future investments to make it sustainable, on one condition: that Europlasma, the buyer, also participates at a sufficient level. A commitment which was not kept since, according to Bercy, Europlasma injected five times less money than what it had announced.
After long discussions with the State, still a shareholder and very invested in the case, Renault is about to provide the court with liquidity. The goal is to participate in the working capital for the coming weeks, in particular to pay salaries while waiting for a solid buyer to come forward. This contribution from Renault “is an essential step to finance the observation period until October”, Fabrice Vély, the mayor of Caudan where the Fonderie de Bretagne is based, explained to ICI Breizh Izel this Friday.
Despite everything, “it’s a provisional step and the challenge is to find a buyer”, concedes the elected official. He specifies that “for the moment, there is no known buyer”, it is therefore necessary to “mobilize French and European manufacturers”.
The production of hollow shell bodies, which was supposed to allow the factory to relaunch, never really started on this site historically dedicated to the automobile industry. The State, which remains a shareholder, remains very invested in the matter and is closely following the ongoing discussions to try to save jobs and industrial facilities.
