Dear Mr. Montebourg:
I have just returned to the United States from Australia where I have
been for the past few weeks on business; therefore, my apologies for
answering your letter dated 31 January 2013.
I appreciate your thinking that your Ministry is protecting
industrial activities and jobs in France. I and Titan have a 40-year
history of buying closed factories and companies, losing millions of
dollars and turning them around to create a good business, paying good
wages. Goodyear tried for over four years to save part of the Amiens
jobs that are some of the highest paid, but the French unions and French
government did nothing but talk.
I have visited the factory a couple of times. 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. I told this to the
French union workers to their faces. They told me that's the French
way!
The Chinese are shipping tires into France - really all over Europe -
and yet you do nothing. In five years, Michelin won't be able to
produce tire in France. France will lose its industrial business because
government is more government.
Sir, your letter states you want Titan to start a discussion. How
stupid do you think we are? Titan is the one with money and talent to
produce tires. What does the crazy union have? It has the French
government. The French farmer wants cheap tire. He does not care if the
tires are from China or India and governments are subsidizing them. Your
government doesn't care either. "We're French!"
The US government is not much better than the French. Titan had to
pay millions to Washington lawyers to sue the Chinese tire companies
because of their subsidizing. Titan won. The government collects the
duties. We don't get the duties, the government does.
Titan is going to buy a Chinese tire company or an Indian one, pay
less than one Euro per hour and ship all the tires France needs. You can
keep the so-called workers. Titan has no interest in the Amien North
factory.
Best regards,
Maurice M. Taylor, Jr.
Chairman and CEO
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9882422/US-boss-berates-French-for-three-hour-working-day.html
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Topic: What a US boss thinks of French Workers (Read 714 times)