Bruno Lucas (Medef): “The morale of Mayenne business leaders is in good shape” – Le Journal des Entreprises – Maine-et-Loire

How are the Mayenne bosses doing?

Despite the general climate of anxiety, the situation is rather positive. The morale of Mayenne business leaders is in good shape, they have investment and recruitment projects. The winter was not the feared one, the order books are good. In addition, there is a good social climate in the companies, a particularity allowed, among other things, because many Mayenne companies are patrimonial. This gives them a strength to adapt.

Aren’t there any black spots?

Yes there is. Many companies have had to dip into their reserves. Their results will certainly be lower than last year. The rise in commodity prices is still affecting us, but the surge seems to be easing. There is energy, but there are several reassuring elements: there will be no cuts, thanks to stocks, the restarting of power stations and a mild winter. On tariffs, even if we have not returned to 2019, we are no longer at the level of August 2022. Engie and TotalEnergies have said they are ready to renegotiate the contracts signed in the second half, at the time of the peak. In addition, unlike the Covid which affected everyone, contract renegotiations concerned a third of companies.

There are still recruitment difficulties. In Mayenne, there are 14,000 recruitment projects and 3,000 unfilled positions. Our unemployment rate is 5%, when the Pays de la Loire region is at 6% and France at 7%. Here, we don’t have urban centers like Rennes or Nantes and it is clear that companies in the North-Mayenne region encounter more difficulties than those in the south. These tensions have always existed, but the difficulty is increasing.

What solutions can you bring to your recruitment difficulties?

At Medef, we are going to have to accentuate our work on the organization of work, to create attractiveness: quality of life at work, four-day week, teleworking, etc. We have to be nimble to find tricks.

What do you think of the pension reform project?

There is real concern among our employees. The demonstrations in Laval were important, with a good third of people coming from private companies. In France, we have a pay-as-you-go system which requires intergenerational solidarity. The real question is: who will pay for our children’s retirement? We are not going to reduce pensions, nor increase contributions. There remains the postponement of the legal retirement age. However, we must take into account professional wear and tear, professional development, and work on devices such as gradual retirement. The debate is not really about age, but about what we do with the end of our professional life. For example, in our companies, we could keep seniors as tutors and trainers.