Posted Sep 28, 2022, 6:57 PM
The first workers’ cooperative in France, Scopelec, in Sorèze (Tarn), risks disappearing on the eve of celebrating its 50th anniversary in January. This Orange subcontractor for the maintenance and installation of telecom networks was placed in receivership on September 26 by the Lyon commercial court.
Given the extent of the debt estimated at 150 million euros, the court set the deadline for submitting the takeover offers to November 2 and the judgment to December 2. While it was one of Orange’s leading service providers, Scopelec lost around 60% of its business flow with this operator in November 2021 during the renewal of three-year contracts for the connection and maintenance of fiber networks. optical and copper wire, which entered into force in April. Orange representing until then two-thirds of its activity, the company suddenly lost 40% of its turnover, which peaked at 475 million euros in 2021 after having doubled since 2013.
“They lost prizes in certain areas – even if they also gained some in the South-East – because the quality of the services had become mediocre, affirms Marc Blanchet, technical director and information system of Orange France. However, we have raised our level of requirements in new calls for tenders, because customers want more quality and no longer want to wait two days for an appointment. [pour une panne]. The former chairman of the executive board of Scopelec, Thomas Foppiani, replaced in September by Carlos Verkaeren, felt, on the contrary, that Orange had favored the cheapest service providers, including a company domiciled in Luxembourg.
1,000 departures
Between November and June, around 1,000 of the 3,600 employees left Scopelec, particularly among competitors. The group presented a safeguard plan to the Lyon commercial court on June 30, which still provided for the elimination of 488 positions at Scopelec SA and 200 in the Lyon subsidiary Setelen. But the receivership came before the social plans were implemented.
To avoid the disappearance of the company, the Interministerial Committee for Industrial Restructuring (Ciri) negotiated solutions with Orange before the summer. The operator has offered to provide additional orders of 45 million euros over 18 months and to pay 20 million euros in receivables from Scopelec subcontractors. But he did not bring the funds, precipitating the bankruptcy filing. “The idea of supplying additional orders fell by itself because Scopelec had many departures and can no longer even ensure the volume of activity entrusted to it, explains Marc Blanchet. And we did not provide financial support because there is no guarantee of the company’s sustainability in the backup plan. »
The regional Union of SCOP (worker cooperative production companies) of Occitanie is studying a partial takeover, if it finds enough employee shareholders – there are 865 members among the 2,500 employees – ready to reinvest at least 4,000 euros each in a new Scop, which is not obvious. “The divorce between Orange and Scopelec is consummated,” says Cyrille Rocher, director of the Union des Scop d’Occitanie. Now we have to move forward and we are going to try to file a takeover offer, telling Orange that it has a social responsibility. »
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