[France] According to various reports in French media, Yahoo France engineers have gone on strike today to protest against the company’s recently announced plans of shutting down its R&D site in Echirolles, near Grenoble, and the layoffs that come with it.
The closure of the engineering site will result in the firing of 78 people, more than one-third of Yahoo France’s current employee workforce of 212 people. The shedding of the research and development centre is particularly painful when you consider the fact that it was opened to much fanfare only one year and a half ago.
When the opening ceremony of the new engineering site was held, an audience of French journalists, local dignitaries as well as newly hired and potential employees was told that the new research centre would aid Yahoo in lowering their global R&D costs, prove beneficial for the employment of technically schooled staff in the region and stimulate the concentration of technological innovation in the country.
That was then, and this is now.
Earlier this year, Yahoo had already trimmed down its workforce in France by laying off some 40 employees, many of whom are still searching for a new job according to French media.
When Yahoo announced it would be shutting down the R&D site, the company said it was looking to consolidate its research and development efforts into fewer locations that are more easily managed. The employees who went on strike today claim the American company is merely replacing those laid off by engineers in lower-cost regions.
As a reminder, Yahoo managed to triple net profits to $186 million last quarter. And its massively expensive “It’s Y!ou” campaign also runs on French television.
How do you say “Happy Holidays” in French?
(Image via Guardian)