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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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Terrorism? Nah: French Love Kidnapping Bosses

Laborers 'sequester' Sony chief to get better pay

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(Newser) – One country’s act of industrial terror is another’s negotiation tactic, the Independent reports. Disgruntled Sony workers in France weren’t shy about locking their bosses inside a factory overnight with trunks and tree branches, demanding better severance packages after job cuts were announced. Police didn’t interfere with the kidnappers, either.

Both sides called the hostage-taking “good humored and perfectly friendly," and laborers freed their bosses after Sony agreed to continue talks. “Refusing to let the chief executive leave was our last chance,” said one employee. “We didn’t have any other choice.” The “sequestration” of bosses is not unusual in France: Last year, workers at one plant held their bosses for 5 days.

Workers of the Sony factory in Pontonx sur l'Adour, southwestern France, stand outside the factory Friday, March 13, 2009.
Workers of the Sony factory in Pontonx sur l'Adour, southwestern France, stand outside the factory Friday, March 13, 2009.   (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
Serge Foucher, CEO of Sony France, smiles as he sits inside a car, leaving the Sony factory in Pontonx sur l'Adour, southwestern France, Friday, March 13, 2009.
Serge Foucher, CEO of Sony France, smiles as he sits inside a car, leaving the Sony factory in Pontonx sur l'Adour, southwestern France, Friday, March 13, 2009.   (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
Serge Foucher, CEO of Sony France, leaves the Sony factory in Pontonx sur l'Adour, southwestern France, Friday, March 13, 2009. Workers at a Sony factory in southwestern France freed two company executives Friday whom they had held to protest the severance package offered for when the plant shuts for good....
Serge Foucher, CEO of Sony France, leaves the Sony factory in Pontonx sur l'Adour, southwestern France, Friday, March 13, 2009. Workers at a Sony factory in southwestern France freed two company executives...   (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
Workers of the Sony factory in Pontonx sur l'Adour, southwestern France, stand outside the factory Friday, March 13, 2009.
Workers of the Sony factory in Pontonx sur l'Adour, southwestern France, stand outside the factory Friday, March 13, 2009.   (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
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1 comment
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riffran
Mar 15, 09 3:42 AM CDT
sequestration?......rofl......thats funny....and feed them MOULDY croisants, ze dirty pigs...lol Reply
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'In France, we're more used to this kind of situation'
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