It's an announcement that could lead to the disappearance of yet another paper mill in France. While the British group was taken over in 2024 by International Papier, DS Smith has announced plans to close its corrugated packaging plant in Valgelon-La Rochette, Savoie. the La Rochette plant employs 90 people.
"An accumulation of losses and a "sustained deterioration in economic conditions" according to DS Smith
This decision, still subject to consultation, is based, according to management, on "an accumulation of losses over several years" and a "sustained deterioration in economic conditions" in the sector.
The DS Smith Packaging Savoie plant is reportedly facing a "strong contraction, a significant drop in production and chronic overcapacity leading to increased competitive pressure, particularly in the South-East" .
An information-consultation process will be launched with employee representatives on November 13, for a period of two months. The final decision will not be taken before the end of this period.
A "industrial and social scandal for unions
The announcement provoked an immediate reaction from the Savoie CGT, which described the planned closure as "industrial and social scandal .
According to the union, the La Rochette site would have made a profit of almost one million euros in 2024. It accuses the parent company, now International Paper (18.6 billion dollars in sales), of having siphoned off more than 500,000 euros and of having blocked an investment deemed strategic. Last April, the group announced an investment plan called Vers de nouveaux sommets (Towards new heights) to strengthen our presence in Europe and achieve annual growth of productivity by 10% until 2027, and exceed sales of 115 million euros within two years.
For the trade union center, "it's not the economic climate that's doomed La Rochette, but a short-term financial strategy" . The site currently employs nearly a hundred people, and also generates business for subcontractors and suppliers in the local area.
The union deplores the State's silence, despite several warnings, and is calling for the rapid organization of a departmental economic and social conference.
The CGT is calling for an immediate moratorium on the closure, the preservation of activity and jobs at the La Rochette site, a round-table discussion bringing together the State, local authorities and group management, as well as the conditionality of public aid to the preservation of industrial jobs and the revival of the paper and cardboard and recycling sector, "essential for a sustainable, local industry" .
Thibault Laumonier, President of DS Smith Packaging France, acknowledged that "it's a difficult announcement" while asserting that the priority would be "support employees and guarantee continuity of service to customers" . No precise timetable for closure has been given at this stage.
