PARIS (Reuters) – Worldline interim CEO Marc-Henri Desportes addressed employees at midday on Tuesday, as the group struggles to cope with the crisis following the dismissal of its previous boss Gilles Grapinet.

During this meeting, Marc-Henri Desportes announced that he wanted to know more about what is happening within the company, by talking more regularly with managers who are closer to the field, according to a representative of the CFTC union at Worldline.

The interim CEO also said he wanted to implement a program to improve data reporting within the group, according to a source within the company who wished to remain anonymous.

Marc-Henri Desportes’ intervention comes as Worldline issued its second profit warning of the year on Friday, prompting the board of directors to announce the departure of CEO Gilles Grapinet, who has been in the post for 11 years, on the same day.

Contacted by Reuters on Tuesday, the CFTC union regretted the “drain of talent” caused by the departure of experienced employees from the group in recent years, the drop in investment in R&D with the elimination of research units as part of the Power24 strategic plan launched in February, as well as the fact that management is not sufficiently informed “of what is happening on the ground”.

“We find ourselves with a board of directors that does not have the information to govern,” said the CFTC representative.

According to the union, the board of directors in particular “took a long time to understand that things were not going well on the ground” in the context of the absorption of the payment group Ingenico, acquired in 2020.

When contacted, Worldline management declined to comment.

On the stock market, Worldline shares have plunged by 25% since the announcement of Gilles Grapinet’s departure and the profit warning.

(Written by Florence Loève, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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