The chairman of French foods group Danone decried the outcry over planned layoffs at his company, saying his firm had become a "sacrificial lamb" in a political fight over globalisation. Franck Riboud, in his first interview since the company announced plans to lay off some 570 workers in France as part of a restructuring of its biscuits business, told French daily Le Figaro that boycotts of Danone products amounted to "suicide." "Certain people want to make Danone into a symbol of globalised world where only shareholders count," Mr. Riboud said. "We have become sacrificial lambs in a political war." Mr. Riboud said that the restructuring was necessary in order to guarantee the future success of the company and make it competitive versus major rivals. "Following restructuring over the past year, our major competitors in the biscuits sector are giants which have streamlined their production and optimised their use of capacity,"he said. He said boycotts of Danone products would only serve those competitors. Last week, politicians from Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's Socialist-led coalition called for a boycott of Danone products as a response to the planned layoffs. Source: Reuters and Le Figaro
