Orange hundreds of indirect subcontractors struggle to survive

Will massive job cuts be decided in a strategic sector? The difficulties of Scopelec, an Orange partner specializing in telecom infrastructures, reveal the threats hanging over the many SMEs in the sector, at a time of deployment of optical fiber in the territory.

On March 17, following the failure of a conciliation procedure under the aegis of the Interministerial Committee for Industrial Restructuring (Ciri), the  »first cooperative in France » obtained from the Commercial Court of Lyon its placement under safeguard, which also benefits its main subsidiary, Setelen. After a call for tenders, the group (around 3,000 employees) lost 65% of its contracts with Orange, which corresponds to a 40% drop in Scopelec’s turnover, in competition with the other companies selected, including Spie and Vinci. The telecoms giant wanted a new contractual system with its subcontractors in the field of operation and maintenance of fixed networks (copper and fiber). The device, called RC Centric, came into force on April 1.

 »We had no legitimate explanation for this sudden severance of commercial relations », deplores Challenges the chairman of the management board of Scopelec, Thomas Foppiani, informed of this loss in November 2021.

Job saving plan

On April 20, the cooperative announced that it was preparing an employment protection plan (PSE, former social plan), having failed to obtain from the courts a maintenance of the orders set by the previous contractual relationship. In a press release, it justifies its project by the order issued five days earlier by the judge in chambers of the Paris commercial court, in the conflict of the company with Orange.

“This decision immediately seals the fate of more than 800 employees, jeopardizes the entire group, (…) not to mention the thousands of jobs also affected among Scopelec’s subcontractors”, says the company.

Compensation negotiated with Orange and Scopelec

The safeguard prohibits the settlement of debts borne by the cooperative and arising before March 17. According to Thomas Foppiani,  »about 250 » indirect Orange subcontractors, acting  »in the field of operation and maintenance of fixed networks », are affected by this freeze.

A delegation of leaders negotiated various compensations with the two groups in dispute. The telecoms giant “is organizing to ensure direct payment to the subcontractors” of the cooperative, for services that have not already been paid for by Orange, says to Challenges a spokesperson for the operator. In addition, the companies have obtained from the cooperative a cash payment for all the interventions carried out between March 18 and 31, informs us the new association France sub-contracting, set up  » to defend the interests of all companies involved in the operation and (of) maintenance of telecommunications networks ».

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Beyond the difficulties of the cooperative, leaders of the sector believe that the prices and rules resulting from the RC Centric contracts, concluded by Orange with its own subcontractors, put them in danger of disappearance. According to France sub-contracting, this new contractual relationship leads to a drop in turnover for second-tier subcontractors for fiber optic connections, on average 40% at national level, excluding the implementation of the various terms of contracts, including penalties and key performance indicators (KPIs). The association assesses the number of companies threatened at nearly 800. Many indirect subcontractors were unable to settle their wages for the month of March and their debts to Urssaf for the first quarter of 2022. The management of a company explains to us that it had to put most of its employees on leave and fears of having to make layoffs.  »We are fighting against the clock for our survival », we stress to France subcontracting.

The association is still awaiting a response from Orange to a letter sent last week to two executives of the group.  »We are requesting an urgent meeting to discuss the economic issues related to the RC Centric market: finding the axes and concrete solutions for improvement with a realistic cost of service allowing us to guarantee the quality of our interventions in compliance with labor law and of security », it is written in this letter, that Challenges has procured.

Orange claims to have « no power over the rates applied »

Orange says it has “no power over the rates applied” to the subcontractors of its own partners. “The prices paid to tier two subcontractors are the result of the business relationships established between tier one and two subcontractors,” says the spokesperson for the group interviewed.  »As far as Orange is concerned, the average tariff applied to our own partners has remained similar between the previous contract (ICTR) and the new one (RC Centric) », specifies our interlocutor.

According to the spokesperson, the  »new contract aims to ensure a better quality of service: when certain subcontractors speak of greater penalties, the issue is that there are no penalties because the criteria of quality will be respected. Orange partners can no longer use a single subcontractor at most, with the operator validating this choice.  »This should contribute to a better investment in skills and therefore quality, for the benefit of the most professional subcontractors. »

Opposite the global group listed on the CAC 40, the young association is mobilizing. The Telegram reported the intrusion of « about fifty vehicles » from service providers led by France subcontracting in the parking lot of the regional headquarters of Orange in Rennes, on April 21, as well as work stoppages in protesting Breton companies against RC Centric.

Six days later, “about a hundred subcontractors, who arrived by car (or) in a basket, blocked the site” of the group in Grand-Quevilly (Seine-Maritime), says Paris-Normandy. Leaders present were granted a brief interview. “We are ceasing all our activities with Orange in the region, but we are maintaining a call for emergencies,” comments the association.

Contacted on the possible reaction that the State intends to bring to the difficulties of the subcontractors, Bercy did not respond to Challenges.

Timour Aggiouri