Between Yvelines and Hachette Livre, a page turns. The publishing group and its approximately 600 employees – 500 on permanent contracts and around a hundred temporary workers – will gradually have to pack their bags to set up in Eure-et-Loir by 2026. The company must set up in the town of Germainville, near Dreux, about forty kilometers from their current site located in the urban area of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
The mayors of Coignières and Maurepas had nevertheless done everything to try to convince them to stay. They were ready to modify the local urban plan to allow the group to extend its activity. But these proposals did not correspond to Hachette Livre’s wishes.
“To adapt its logistics model and offer an offer that combines the ever-increasing requirements for services and speed, while integrating the group’s environmental objectives, a very substantial development of the current distribution center is necessary”, indicates management.
The prefect advises against settling in Allainville-aux-Bois
In 2021, the announcement was made to employees that the move would allow an installation in Allainville-aux-Bois, in the very south of Yvelines, on agricultural land in the agglomeration of Rambouillet Territoires. But it was without counting on the intervention of the prefect of Yvelines.
“I do not have the ability to prohibit a building permit, but to make a factory in the countryside on wheat land did not seem wise to me, explains the prefect, Jean-Jacques Brot. From the summer of 2021, I only gave warnings. The issue of soil artificialization in Île-de-France and Rambolitain is a particularly sensitive subject. They risked having all-out litigation. »
According to him, other land was available in the area of the Rambouillet agglomeration. The group itself would have liked to stay in the Yvelines according to the communications made to the staff representatives. But no solution was ultimately found. “I regret that there were no other proposals made, continues the prefect. It is regrettable from a departmental point of view to see them leave. »
“There would be room for everyone”
For employees, on the other hand, the prospect of leaving for Eure-et-Loir rather than staying in the Yvelines at Allainville-aux-Bois is finally… good news. Especially since they recognize it: the site needs to be modernized. “This new location would have a little less impact on the workforce because there are a few more people who live near Germainville than Allainville, reports Michel Guillo, SUD-Hachette Livre union representative. A priori, there would be room for everyone… ”
Indeed, if the management of the company does not communicate officially on the figures, nor does it make any formal promise because “discussions are in progress” with the staff representatives, it indicates its desire to “build the project with the teams , with respect for social dialogue”. It remains to be seen whether all the positions can be retained.
Regarding the calendar, the activity should start in 2026 on the new site in Eure-et-Loir. It should extend over twenty hectares and be at the cutting edge of technology. As for the Maurepas-Coignières plant, it will continue to operate until the end of the move, i.e. until the end of 2027. The Lagardère-owned group, which has more than 200 publishing brands and nearly 2.6 billion euros in turnover worldwide, should remain the owner. But he did not comment on the future of the site.