GE Didn't Deliver on Jobs. Now, France Wants Up to $60 Million

  • Company committed to create 1,000 jobs to win over Alstom
  • French woes add to industrial giant’s troubles elsewhere
Photographer: Simon Dawson
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Four years ago, General Electric Co. made a commitment to win France’s approval to buy Alstom SA’s energy business: it would create jobs or pay a hefty fine.

The Boston-based company pledged it would add 1,000 positions in France by end-2018, failing which it would pay the French government a fine of 50,000 euros ($57,000) for every job not generated. While the French finance ministry has said GE had created 323 jobs as of end-April 2018, unions and local officials contest the number, leaving the company facing a maximum fine of 50 million euros.