by Bernard
Thu Feb 21st, 2013 at 03:20:39 AM EST
Well, it's official. And it's been doing the headlines all over the French media today (Wed. Feb. 20): French workers are lazy, they only work three hours a day, have a full hour lunch break and they expect American businessmen to take over their ailing tire manufacturing plant. "How stupid do you think we are?" says Maurice Taylor, aka "The Grizz," CEO of Titan International.
Taylor had been approached by Arnaud Montebourg, Minister of Industrial Renewal in the French government, known for his outspoken ways.
U.S. CEO ridicules French workers as time-wasting - CBS News
Taylor, who is nicknamed "The Grizz," wrote the no-holds-barred letter to French Industrial Renewal Minister Arnaud Montebourg to explain why his company wouldn't buy part of an ailing Goodyear factory in Amiens. The ministry confirmed the letter as authentic however attempts to obtain comment from Titan have been unsuccessful.
"I have visited the factory a couple of times," the letter date Feb. 8 reads, according to a copy published Wednesday in Les Echos newspaper.
"The French workforce gets paid high wages but only work for three hours. They get one hour for breaks and lunch, talk for three and work for three. I told this to the French union workers to their faces. They told me that's the French way!"
Tough talking indeed from The Grizz.
U.S. CEO ridicules French workers as time-wasting - CBS News
Titan International plays on the hard reputation of its CEO, who also made an attempt to run for U.S. President in 1996 for the Republicans. The company's website features a biography explaining that the nickname comes from his "tough negotiating style" in Washington as well as a logo and sound of a roaring grizzly bear wearing shades.
front-paged by afew
As it happens, during Taylor's visit, the plant has been undergoing a partial shutdown and was operating on a reduced schedule. Obviously, the workers there didn't learn the "Look busy! The boss is visiting!" attitude.
In Mr Taylor's world, Old Europe is full of beret wearing socialist moochers, so say the serious media; heck, its even contaminating the US Executive Branch:
Broken, we're telling you...
The news made headlines all over the French media today: the usual Very Serious Economists gravely explained that we are "not competitive" and we need to "reform", or else it's all going to China...
Montebourg's answer?
I see your grizzly and I raise you... an Oprah!
Oprah boosts Made in France in praising chip fryer to 16 million Twitter followers - The Connexion
SHARES in French electrical manufacturer Seb have soared after one of their chip-fryers - the T-Fal Actifry - was boosted by US TV superstar Oprah Winfrey.
Oprah posted a picture on Twitter of her with the Made in France machine saying: "This machine ..T-Fal actifry has changed my life. And they're not paying me to say it."
Shares in Seb - which owns the Tefal brand - increased 5.12% in just a couple of hours.
Industrial Renewal Minister Arnaud Montebourg greeted the news on Twitter saying the fat-free fryer was made in France by Seb at Is-sur-Tille (21) in Bourgogne.
As it happens,
SEB (Société d'Emboutissage de Bourgogne) who owns the T-Fal brand had based its strategy in the small appliance market on innovation and, yes, manufacturing in
France, at least for the high end products (it also has manufacturing in Asia). Innovation pays off, who knew?
Montebourg actually remarked that French may know a thing or two about tire manufacturing.
As for the "two-hour" lunch break, it may have been the norm until the 1960s, but the average duration is now about 36 minutes, down from 1 hour 38 thirty five year ago.
So we may have failed the grizzly-cum-failed- Repub-candidate test, but Oprah's on our side :)
