Auchan Faces Backlash Over Job Cuts as Decathlon Pays €1 Billion in Dividends

Workers and unions criticize the Mulliez family for mass layoffs at Auchan while distributing massive dividends through its other companies.

The Mulliez family, owners of Auchan and Decathlon, is under fire as Decathlon distributes €1 billion in dividends while 2,389 jobs are being cut at Auchan.
Protests led by the CGT union took place at an Auchan store in Fontenay-sous-Bois, with calls to halt mass layoffs and impose stricter accountability on corporate use of public funds.
The CGT has proposed legislation to condition public subsidies on job preservation and prevent large-scale layoffs by profitable companies.
The CFDT union has called for a commission to investigate how public funds were used by Mulliez-owned companies, questioning the ethics of the group's financial practices.
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier has expressed interest in reviewing how public funds were utilized by Auchan and other companies planning layoffs, but no conclusions have been reached yet.