By Gilles Guillaume

PARIS (Reuters) – Two leading trade unions at Stellantis on Tuesday criticised the way the carmaker is implementing a furlough scheme aimed at mitigating the impact of a fall in output brought on by a global chip shortage.

Stellantis has been affected by several supply chain disruptions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These include chips, which are critical components in automotive manufacturing. Stellantis made it possible to extend production shutdowns in several European factories by late August.

Four Stellantis unions reached a French furlough agreement that allows the company to decrease the hours of staff who are affected by the chip shortage. Workers are entitled to a part of their salaries if they are not fired or retrained. The state will reimburse the company for some of the hours lost.

Union representatives claimed that furloughed staff had been putting too many people on it after a monthly meeting on Tuesday with management.

Anh-Quan Nguyen is a representative from CFE-CGC union. He said that France’s furlough terms were too generous and that workers in France are taking more leave than those working at Stellantis locations outside France.

White collar workers have to be in partial unemployment even though there’s plenty to do. This is absurd,” Anh Quan Nguyen stated to Reuters.

The CFDT also claimed that the company didn’t offer sufficient training options.

Force Ouvriere (another union in Stellantis that signed the furlough arrangement) said that it was looking for signs that the company was furloughing employees whose jobs were not directly connected to production.

Stellantis spokesperson, in response to CFE-CGC’s complaint, stated that partial unemployment agreements were not just for assembly lines.

The spokesperson said that the company was involved in “ensuring sustainability in light of the semiconductor crisis and electrification” as well as complying with CO2 regulations.

Stellantis stated that similar furlough programs were not in place in the other European regions.

Stellantis was created from the merger of PSA and FCA. It forecasted that it would make 1.4 million less vehicles this year due to the shortage in chips.

France’s furlough program requires workers to give up one day of work per week.

Both workers and supervisors get 84% of their net salaries, while the state provides Stellantis with an allowance equal to 60%. This is for furloughed working days.

The furlough agreement was agreed by the unions and Stellantis for a period of six months. However, the agreement is able to be extended for up to three years.