Jobs in danger, nuclear deterrence, Chinese buyer... We summarize the stakes around the chemical plant Vencorex, threatened with liquidation

On Thursday, 10 April, Lyon's commercial court announced the takeover of the Vencorex plant by choosing the offer made by its Chinese competitor Wanhua. The chemical group, in judicial reorganization, installed near Grenoble, will not finally be taken over by its employees, the project of takeover in co-operatives having been refused by the court.

After months of mobilization to avoid the dismantling of a pivotal of the chemical valley to highly strategic activity, the employees of Vencorex (Isère) are now fixed. On Thursday 10 April, the Lyon Commercial Court decided to accept the offer of partial takeover of the Chinese group Wanhua, via its Hungarian subsidiary BorsodChem. A very hard blow to employment in the region and to our national sovereignty...

The competing offer by employees of Vencorex and local authorities, which would have protected more jobs, was deemed "irreceivable" by the commercial court on Thursday, 10 April.

The court of commerce in Lyon must decide on Thursday on the future of the Pont-de-Claix plant, near Grenoble, whose salt is indispensable to the space and nuclear sectors. Two options are on the table: a partial takeover by a Chinese group or the takeover by employees in a cooperative.

The chemical plant of Pont-de-Claix, in Isère, will retain only a small part of its activities and employees. The alternative project, carried out by the employees in the form of a cooperative, was rejected by the commercial court of Lyon on Thursday. A decision perceived as a new industrial sinking.

The partial takeover of the chemical plant in difficulty Vencorex, near Grenoble, was attributed on Thursday to the Chinese group Wanhua, via its Hungarian subsidiary BorsodChem, which will keep about 50 jobs out of 450, according to the decision of the Lyon commercial court consulted by the AFP.