By Forrest Crellin
PARIS (Reuters) -France’s CFDT trade union said on Monday that it could join an ongoing strike by the CGT union at ExxonMobil’s Port Jerome refinery as talks with the company near a deadline.
So far, the strike action has been limited to chemical workers after Exxon said it would shut down its steam cracker and close chemical production at the site this year.
Exxon has two refineries in France that account for about 30% of the country’s capacity. A spokesperson said the strikes have not impacted its refining, despite a blockade in late June.
The closures at the facility will mean 608 employees losing their jobs from 2025, the Exxon spokesperson told Reuters.
The end of information and consultation period for the workforce support package is Sept. 20, so Exxon and the unions need to reach an agreement by the end of the week, they added.
CFDT, one of France’s largest unions, said in a statement it was worried that working conditions would be significantly degraded by the proposed changes.
“The CFDT currently does not rule out any action, including legal action, to defend the interests of all employees, but prefers to return to the negotiating table,” it said.
The CFDT took part in strikes last year at French refineries over President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms, which saw disruptions to fuel supplies across the country.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Forrest Crellin; Editing by David Goodman, Louise Heavens and Alexander Smith)
