Faced with the PSG stadium project, Poissy workers want to "be Stellantis' nightmare"

As the Ile de France regional council meeting was taking place, around a hundred workers were chanting at the foot of the building their opposition to the possible closure of the Poissy automotive plant and PSG 's plan to buy a piece of land to build its new stadium. The professional sports club, which already has its campus in Poissy, is studying the construction of "PSG Land" in Yvelines. Under discussion: a 60,000-seat stadium, restaurants and hotels. Stellantis management claims that the factory can coexist with the sports facility, but the employees don't believe it at all.

On his small red platform, Farid Borsali is demanding guarantees from the car manufacturer's management and the public authorities for the future of the company's employees. In particular, he wants five-year "senior plans" for workers at the end of their careers. An activist with the Sud Stellantis union, he has worked for 35 years in car assembly at Poissy, the site that produces the Opel Mokka. The vehicle is expected to stop leaving this factory in 2028, announced Valérie Pécresse, president of the Ile de France region, on France Info on May 22. After that, the plans are unknown to the staff. According to Farid Borsali, the car group offers "no future. There is nothing after the Mokka."

A crisis that is also affecting Opel's subcontracting companies, such as those in tire assembly. " I like the football team, I support PSG . But not this policy," smiles Mohammed, who has been employed for 20 years at the MC Syncro factory, which produces tires for Stellantis. Mohammed has mobilized to obtain guarantees from the group on automotive employment. "Our production has already slowed, from 2,000 tires in the past to 1,200 tires this year. We think it will be over by October." Faced with the silence of their employers, the workers' representatives wanted to be combative against "the job loss" and for being "Stellantis' nightmare."

For its part, the French group, whose turnover is down 14% compared to 2024, maintains that it could house both the football club and the production site. "The land is huge," explains Jean-Charles Lefebvre, spokesperson for the group. PSG is eyeing 50 hectares of the site to build "PSG Land," but not the entire operation (170 ha). The Stellantis spokesperson explains that in 2022, the firm had sold 42 hectares of its Sochaux site for other economic activities. Jean-Charles Lefebvre specifies that "PSG Land" is still in the study stage and that the city of Massy could ultimately be chosen by the sports club to build its stadium. According to him, "the file is still in PSG's hands."

Regardless of PSG's decision, the workers' committee, which organized the demonstration in front of the regional council, fears layoffs . "Stadium or not, the jobs of all these employees are threatened by the shutdown of car manufacturing," the statement written by the employees blasted. The Stellantis spokesperson refuted the 2,500 job cuts and reassured about an "industrial future" for Stellantis in Poissy. He mentioned the diversification of automotive activities in the coming years, such as metal stamping and battery preparation.

An economic model deplored by Philippe Juravert, regional councilor for the Île-de-France region, a member of the LFI (Luxembourg Economic Action League). He points to the situation in the automotive sector, with the case of Renault in Flins in 2024 and Peugeot in Aulnay in 2014, which closed their doors in the region. He asserts that public authorities can do better, and that "the state should focus not on the PSG but on industrial jobs."