What does the future hold for the employees of the Luxembourg-based satellite group?

Following the announcement by SES management on March 29, 2023 of a possible merger between SES and Intelsat, OGBL, the company’s majority union, is concerned about the future of the Luxembourg satellite group’s employees.

Rumors of a possible merger have been circulating for several months. SES management seems to have tried to prepare the ground by embarking on a major new reorganization process.

In February, SES management informed the staff delegations of the various entities that make up SES (not only in Luxembourg, but also abroad, notably in Germany and the Netherlands) of a future internal reorganization. In March, SES CEO Steve Collar officially informed the 650 employees in Luxembourg that SES is undergoing a profound transformation to become a “market-driven organization” that is “fit for purpose”.

Over the past few weeks, employees – mainly middle and senior managers – have gradually been offered new positions, as well as amicable departures.

As a reminder, the Luxembourg-based satellite group has gone through a rather turbulent period in recent years, with several small and large reorganizations, including a last major restructuring program in 2020 (“Simplify and Amplify”; S&A), which culminated in the in extremis conclusion of a job protection plan (PME) in August 2020 and the renewal of this PME in 2022 (it will expire on August 31, 2023). Approximately fifty employees were saved at the time and are still being saved thanks to the negotiation of this PME, which provides for internal redeployment to current and future vacancies, as well as the introduction of government instruments such as early retirement due to corporate restructuring, temporary reemployment assistance and recruitment aid. As a result, government involvement in this restructuring process is not negligible.

However, this has not prevented SES from opening a subsidiary in Bucharest in 2020 and rapidly expanding its activities in Romania, even though the state is financially supporting measures to safeguard jobs in Luxembourg. It should also be noted that the activities carried out in Romania could very well have been located in Luxembourg, as there is no shortage of space or personnel in Betzdorf.

The confirmation by SES of ongoing merger negotiations with Intelsat SA brings back bad memories and the OGBL wonders whether jobs will be maintained in Luxembourg, given that mergers generally lead to job cuts.

The OGBL therefore calls on the Minister of Communications and Media, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, to assume his responsibilities and ensure that the interests of employees are defended during the negotiations and the conclusion of this potential merger. The French State is a major shareholder in SES with 33.3% of the voting rights on the Board of Directors. Guarantees must therefore be sought to ensure that there will be no job losses and that SES will retain a majority stake in the new entity resulting from the merger. Any agreement motivated solely by tax considerations, cost-cutting, downsizing and the weakening of the Luxembourg site must be rejected.

Finally, there is the question of employee representation on the Board of Directors of SES SA. The OGBL stresses that it is extremely regrettable that SES has so far refused to accept employee representatives as voting members of the SES SA Board of Directors, as repeatedly requested by the OGBL. This would allow employees to have a say in the company’s decisions and would reassure them that they are represented in this decision-making body as required by law. Currently, employee representatives only sit on SES Astra’s Board of Directors, which was the decision-making body until 2001. Over time, however, the Group’s structure has evolved enormously and important decisions are now taken and discussed within SES SA. Employee representation on the Board of Directors of SES SA is therefore essential.

In any case, the OGBL calls on the government to play an active role in the negotiation of this merger and to stand up for the protection of jobs in Luxembourg.

Press release of the Services and Energy Syndicate of the OGBL
April 3, 2023