AREVA: Majority of Labor Organizations Sign the Employment Management Agreement

The four labor organizations, CFDT, CFE-CGC, FO and UNSA-SPAEN, which represent more than 75% of the company’s employees in France, signed today the agreement on employment that has been under negotiation since July.

As part of an ambitious recovery plan, AREVA launched negotiations at the beginning of July with the labor organizations at a French national level on the conditions for the management of employment over the period 2015 to 2017.

The contract for the social transition from 2015-2017 negotiated with the social partners from July 3 to September 30 clarifies the following:

• The principals for the management of employment and competencies over the period.
• The support mechanisms for voluntary departures as well as early retirement packages financed by AREVA.
• The significant resources implemented by the company to provide personalized support for applicants for departure or internal mobility.

The agreement negotiated with the social partners is based on several essential principals:

• Exclusive reliance on the voluntary departure by employees through the end of the plan in October 2017.
• Protection and transfer of key competencies within the company.
• Equity in the programs implemented within the six entities impacted by the agreement.
• Social responsibility for the programs implemented: including those exercising pension rights at the full rate and ensuring voluntary separation with approved professional project.
• Priority is given to safety and production.

This agreement is now the reference for the voluntary separation plans which will be launched in the six concerned entities:  AREVA BS, AREVA Mines, AREVA NC, AREVA NP SAS, EURODIF Production and SET.

“I would like to commend the quality of social dialogue and the spirit of responsibility of our social partners. The agreement that we signed today is based on the principle of voluntary participation. It secures the support for employees who will voluntarily leave to pursue professional projects or retirement, and it reinforces the internal mobility program within the company,” said François Nogué, AREVA’s senior executive vice president of Human Resources.

On May 7^th of this year, AREVA announced an objective to reduce the workforce in France by 3,000 to 4,000 (5,000 to 6,000 for the entire company). This project is part of the competitiveness plan to save up to one billion euros by 2017 as announced on March 4, 2015. This plan is based on four pillars: control of payroll and compensation, productivity improvement, purchasing selectivity and commercial strategy.