PARIS - French workers released a 3M Co. manager held hostage for two days in a labor dispute over layoffs, the company said Thursday.
Workers at a 3M factory in Pithiviers, south of Paris, locked manager Luc Rousselet in an office Tuesday, demanding better severance packages for those laid off and better conditions for those who keep their jobs.
After discussions Wednesday that ran into the night, Rousselet was released unharmed overnight, company spokeswoman Catherine Hamon said. Negotiations between workers and management over details of the layoff plan were to resume Thursday.
3M, based in Maplewood, has announced thousands of layoffs worldwide amid the economic downturn, including 110 of the 235 jobs at the Pithiviers factory.
A new poll indicated that French worker frustration remains high, with a majority of respondents predicting more violent incidents in response to the economic crisis. The hostage-taking was one of many recent efforts by French workers to protest the downturn.
In response to public pressure, the French government is preparing a decree that could ban stock options and bonuses at companies that receive state bailout money.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
