PARIS (Reuters) – French spirits manufacturer Hennessy has suspended its plan to relocate the bottling of its cognac to China, an employee representative informed by management said on Tuesday.

The announcement of this project provoked a strike by several hundred employees last week.

Owned by the world’s leading luxury group LVMH, Hennessy said it was studying options to deal with anti-dumping measures imposed by Beijing last month on wine spirits. The group notably planned to test shipping cognac in bulk to bottle it in China.

On Monday, the company finally informed staff and union representatives that it had suspended the bulk shipment test after the exchange between the French and Chinese presidents on the sidelines of the G20 held in Brazil this week last, indicated Mathieu Devers, technician at Hennessy and employee representative on the company’s social committee (CSE).

Hennessy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the project’s suspension.

“We are satisfied with the suspension even if unfortunately it remains only a suspension,” declared Mathieu Devers, stressing that management could resume this project if political discussions between Brussels and Beijing do not progress sufficiently.

Since last month, Beijing has demanded the payment of deposits of between 30% and 40% on imports of wine spirits from the EU, a measure which mainly hits French cognac producers like Hennessy , Pernod Ricard and Rémy Cointreau.

According to Frédéric Merceron, representative of the Force Ouvrière union at Hennessy, management announced during a meeting on Tuesday that the company wanted to strengthen itself in growing markets and develop in other sectors where it is not. present, in order to offset the impact of these customs measures.

(Reporting by Alban Kacher, written by Dominique Patton; Florence Loève, edited by Blandine Hénault)

Copyright © 2024 Thomson Reuters