Ducros Express, the former DHL Express French domestic business, is planning to get rid of about600 full-time jobs out of a total workforce of 3,100 this year in order to reduce operating costs
and improve its position in the highly competitive French market.The company’s management confirmed union announcements of large-scale job losses, including 550compulsory redundancies, various French newspapers reported. A further 50 staff will be moved topart-time contracts.
Ducros Express managing director Eric Lefranc told the AFP news agency that 7-8 of the company’s50 depots would be closed down. The company would do everything possible to maintain its servicequality during the restructuring, he stressed.
The CFDT union claimed about a dozen depots could be closed down and warned it would try todelay these closures. The number of job losses could reach more than 700 in the first half-yearsince the 125 people facing job transfers and the 50 moving to part-time positions would not acceptthe changes and thus also faced redundancy, it added.
Ducros Express is the new name of the heavily loss-making domestic parcels business of DHLExpress in France which Deutsche Post disposed of to financial investor Caravelle in mid-2010. Thenew owners had said repeatedly in recent months that major cost-cutting measures will be necessaryat the company.
The parcels company, with revenues of €320 million in 2009, has been in the red for many years.According to French media, it made a loss of €80 million in 2009 followed by a further €75 millionin 2010 on revenues of €300 million.
Ducros remains the exclusive French domestic distribution partner for DHL Express, handlingdeliveries of international Day Definite shipments to customers in France, and uses DHL’s EuroPlusservice for its international parcels.
