Thread: Titan CEO Crushes Socialist "Work Ethic" Tells France You Keep Your So-Called Workers

Titan CEO Crushes Socialist "Work Ethic", Tells France "You Can Keep Your So-Called Workers"


Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/20/2013 11:40 -0500


Update: FRANCE'S MONTEBOURG TELLS TAYLOR REMARKS `IGNORANT, INSULTING' - And now we know Taylor was spot on.

The French industry minister is not amused. The CEO of US tire-maker Titan International has explained to the French unions (who think he belongs in an asylum) why his company is not interested in any deal - noting "you can keep your so-called workers," adding that he would have to be stupid to take over a factory whose staff only put in three hours work a day. Maurice 'Grizz' Taylor went 'postal' at the suggestion his company invest in France: "Titan is going to buy a Chinese tire company or an Indian one, pay less than one Euro per hour wage and ship all the tires France needs." His truth-filled reality letter concluded: How stupid do you think we are? Titan is the one with the money and the talent to produce tires. What does the crazy union have? It has the French government." The flustered Frenchman refrained from immediate reply but gallicly noted, "Don’t worry, there will be a response; it's better written down." Indeed, just as long as its not the labor minister.
Via The Globe And Mail,

The CEO of a U.S. tire maker has delivered a crushing summary of how some outsiders view France’s work ethic in a letter saying he would have to be stupid to take over a factory whose staff only put in three hours work a day.

...

“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,” Taylor wrote on Feb. 8 in the letter in English to the minister, Arnaud Montebourg.

“I told this to the French union workers to their faces. They told me that’s the French way!” Taylor added in the letter, which was posted by business daily Les Echos on its website and which the ministry confirmed was genuine.

“Titan is going to buy a Chinese tire company or an Indian one, pay less than one Euro per hour wage and ship all the tires France needs,” he said. “You can keep the so-called workers.”

Socialist President Francois Hollande might take some comfort in Taylor’s view of his own country’s business policies: “The U.S. government is not much better than the French,” he said, referring to a dispute over Chinese exports.
...

The minister refrained from an immediate reply: “”Don’t worry, there will be a response,” Montebourg told reporters on Wednesday after meeting Hollande. “It’s better written down.”

Union leaders were less cautious. CGT official Mickael Wamen said Taylor belonged more “in an asylum” than the boardroom of a multinational company.

Taylor’s comments are the latest blow to France’s image after verbal attacks last year by Montebourg on firms seeking to shut ailing industrial sites prompted international mockery.

...

Talks with Titan over a possible purchase of the plant’s farm tire section fell through last September after a failure to reach a deal with the CGT union on voluntary redundancies.

...

His letter to Montebourg accuses the French government of “doing nothing” in the face of Chinese competition.

“Sir, your letter states that you want Titan to start a discussion. How stupid do you think we are?” he wrote. “Titan is the one with the money and the talent to produce tires. What does the crazy union have? It has the French government.”
And for purity's sake, here is the full letter itself (highlights ours):

February 8, 2013

Mr. Arnaud Montebourg
Ministere Du Redressement
Productif
139 rue de Bercy
Teledoc 136
75572 Paris cedes 12

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 not 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 that 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!

You are a politician so you don't want to rock the boat. The Chinese are shipping tires into France — really all over Europe — and yet you do nothing. The Chinese government subsidizes all the tire companies. In five years, Michelin won't be able to produce tires in France. France will lose its industrial business because its government is more government.

Sir, your letter states that you want Titan to start a discussion. How stupid do you think we are? Titan is the one with the money and the talent to produce tires. What does the crazy union have? It has the French government. The French farmer wants cheap tires. He does not care if the tires are from China or India and these governments are subsidizing them. Your government doesn't care either: "We're French!"

The U.S. 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 wage 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

Titan CEO Crushes Socialist "Work Ethic", Tells France "You Can Keep Your So-Called Workers" | Zero Hedge

Previewing Tomorrow's First Greek General Strike Of 2013

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/19/2013 23:20 -0500


Today was one of those rare days when there were no media reports describing in gruesome detail what another 24 hours in the complete social de-evolution of Greece looks like. The reason for that is that the Greek media and journalists decided to hold their first all day general strike today, which in turn happens to be in advance of tomorrow's first for 2013 general Greek strike. The journalists’ union ESIEA decided to hold the strike in solidarity with the 24-hour action called by GSEE and ADEDY, but wanted to ensure there was media coverage of the protest planned for Wednesday. So what will happen tomorrow? To a big extent, just more of the same: "State services will grind to a halt Wednesday and public transport will be disrupted in Athens as workers join a 24-hour general strike called by the country’s two main labor unions."

And whereas the neo-(or paleo) Keynesians out there can spin any natural disaster as GDP accretive, not even they can transform the complete stop of all "constructive" activity as somehow benefiting Greek GDP.

Furthermore, with no improvements in the Greek macroeconomic picture whatsoever, one can be assured that tomorrow's general strike is merely the first of many, now that the weather is warm enough to hold posters and slogans in broad daylight.



From Ekathimerini:

Transport workers will run a limited service Wednesday so that people can attend protest rallies planned for the city center. Commuters will get a taste of the upheaval from Tuesday when trolley bus employees are to stage a five-hour walkout from 11 a.m. On Wednesday, buses and trolley buses will run between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Staff on the Athens metro, tram and the Piraeus-Kifissia electric railway (ISAP) are to decide Tuesday on Wednesday’s action.

There will be no trains running nor ferries sailing Wednesday as employees of the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE) and the country’s seamen walk off the job. The Proastiakos suburban railway will also halt its services Wednesday.

As is usual on general strike days, tax offices and municipal services will be closed to the public as employees are expected to join the action en masse. Hospitals will be operating on skeleton staff and schools will close as doctors and teachers join the action.

Lawyers, engineers and construction workers, whose sector has been particularly hard hit by the economic crisis, are expected to join the action Wednesday too.

The BBC adds:

Union leaders say they are angry at the job cuts and tax rises being demanded by Greece's international lenders.

"The (strike) is our answer to the dead-end policies that have squeezed the life out of workers, impoverished society and plunged the economy into recession and crisis," the private sector union GSEE said in a statement.

"Our struggle will continue for as long as these policies are implemented," it said.

The union is organising the walkout with public sector union Adedy.

Several marches are due to culminate in protests outside parliament in Syntagma square, Athens, where violent clashes have broken out on previous occasions.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's eight-month-old government has taken a tough line on strikers, invoking emergency law twice this year to order seamen and metro staff back to work.

But despite such measures, strikes have recently picked up.

A one-day visit by French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday went largely unreported because Greek journalists downed tools.

Our correspondent says more than 20 general strikes since the crisis erupted have failed to halt austerity - and this one is unlikely to be any different.

Well they sure can keep on trying. And since the journalists prudently striked (or is that stroke?) preemptively, tomorrow's protests will be widely covered, and should generate enough headlines to send the S&P500 at least another 10 points higher.

Previewing Tomorrow's First Greek General Strike Of 2013 | Zero Hedge

'HOW STUPID DO YOU THINK WE ARE?'

US tire boss mocks 'crazy' French unions...

'One hour for breaks and lunch, talk for three and work for three'...

Socialist France Responds To Titan CEO, Hilarity Ensues

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/21/2013 09:53 -0500

Presented without any comment (see original Titan letter here), and google translated to add Babel fishing insult to an already injurious, or is that hilarious, exchange between a hard core capitalist and a socialist... perfect ignorance, admiration of Obama, trade tariff threats, oh, and don't mention the war.
From Arnaud Montebourg,

Sir,

Your extremely insulting words also testify perfect ignorance of what our country is France, its key strengths, such as its world-renowned attractiveness and its relationship with the United States of America.

France has the pride to welcome on its soil over 20,000 foreign companies representing nearly two million jobs, a third of its industrial exports, 20% of private research and development and 25% of industrial employment. Each year, there are 700 decisions of locating foreign investment and job creators of value in France. And this strong attractiveness does not weaken, on the contrary from year to year, it is getting stronger.

Within these foreign investments, the United States occupied the first place. 4200 subsidiaries of U.S. companies employ nearly 500,000 people. The presence of U.S. companies in France is very old: Haviland since 1842 IBM since 1914 Coca-Cola since 1933, General Electric since 1974. And many others. These links are from year to year renewed: in 2012, companies like Massey Ferguson, Mars Chocolate, or 3M chose to increase their presence in France.

What are the decisive factors in the choice of location? Foreign companies in France are seeking quality infrastructure, a lifestyle appreciate an energy amongst the most competitive in Europe, and a very favorable environment to research and innovation. But most importantly, away from this your comments are ridiculous and derogatory, all these companies know and appreciate the quality and productivity of the workforce French, commitment, knowledge, talent and skills of workers French.

To amplify the attractiveness, the French government has recently taken measures 35 in the National Pact for growth, competitiveness and employment. Among them, the tax credit for competitiveness and employment allege coats of 6% wage firms between 1 and 2.5 SMIC. In addition, the social partners have reached an agreement on the securisation employment, which illustrates the quality of social dialogue in France and the importance that the government attaches to which I belong.

Can I remind you that Titan, the business you run is 20 times smaller than Michelin, a French leader in technology our international influence, and 35 times less profitable? That is to say how a Titan could learn and gain enormously from a French settlement.

France is especially proud and happy to welcome American investment between our two countries are linked by an old friendship and passionate. Moms do you know what makes La Fayette to the United States of America? For our part, we French will never forget the sacrifice of young American soldiers on the beaches of Normandy to deliver us from Nazism in 1944. And since you choose to criticize your own country in the letter that you send me, I must tell you how the French government admire the policy implemented by President Obama. As Minister for Industry, I am particularly sensitive to actions in favor of the relocation of manufacturing jobs in the United States and radical innovation. It is our policy that even some present with the parent inspired by your President.

You mention your intention to exploit the labor of some countries to flood our markets. I must tell you that this calculation wrong and short-term and will sooner or later face a justified reaction (just as in the US). This is already the case in France with allies increasingly numerous in the Union European arguing for reciprocity of exchanges and organize against dumping. In the meantime, rest assured you can count on me to monitor, by the competent services of the French government with redoubled zeal, the importation of your tires. They will ensure compliance with all standards particularly applicable materials social, environmental and technical.

I beg you to accept, Sir, the assurances of my highest.

Socialist France Responds To Titan CEO, Hilarity Ensues | Zero Hedge

Titan CEO vs France Round 3: "The Wackos Of The Communist Union Destroy The Highest Paying Jobs"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/22/2013 15:28 -0500

The saga of the capitalist vs the socialist goes on with Round 3, following round 1 in which the "Titan CEO Crushes Socialist "Work Ethic", Tells France "You Can Keep Your So-Called Workers" and round 2 in which "Socialist France Responds To Titan CEO, Hilarity Ensues." With the entire "developed" world now a real-time parody of itself, in which the truth about the true state of affairs is only revealed in grotesque, farcical, ad-hominem repartees between various members of the insolvent status quo plutocracy, we can only hope for many more rounds of this didactic back and forth.

Excerpted from Titan CEO Maurice Taylor's follow up letter in response to Arnaud Montebourg's letter responding to Maurice Taylor.

You letter shows the extent to which your political class is out of touch with real world problems.

You call me an extremist, but most businessmen would agree that I must be nuts to have the idea to spend millions of US dollars to buy a tyre factory in France paying some of the highest wages in the world.

Your letter did not mention why the French government has not stepped in to rescue this Goodyear tyre factory.

The extremist, Mr Minister, is your government and the lack of knowledge about how to build a business.

Your government let the wackos of the communist union destroy the highest paying jobs.

At no time did Titan ask for lower wages; we asked only if you want seven hours pay, you work at least six.

France does have beautiful women and great wine.

PS: My grandmother named my father after French entertainer Maurice Chevalier, and I inherited the name.

I have visited Normandy with my wife. I know what we did for France.


Titan CEO vs France Round 3: "The Wackos Of The Communist Union Destroy The Highest Paying Jobs" | Zero Hedge