EDF decides to freeze its hiring

It's called taking everyone the wrong way. EDF has just instituted a moratorium on its hiring, according to L'informé . This year, the group had planned to recruit between 3,000 and 3,500 people. However, Christophe Caval - the director of human resources of EDF - explained that all hiring is now frozen, in an email addressed to the various directors of human resources of the entities of the group, at the end of last week. The decision is surprising to say the least, while the company must on the contrary accelerate in nuclear power, but also in renewable energies.

The announcement comes as Luc Rémont, who arrived at the head of EDF in November, is due to unveil his strategic plan in June. But the new boss has already set four main priorities, one of which concerns the working time directly concentrated on the performance of each person's tasks (known as “metal time” in CEO jargon). This freeze on hiring should make it possible to better determine “those which the different directions need”, we slip at EDF. A means of supporting Luc Rémont's speech, centered on a search for operational performance.

In addition, the strikes linked to the protest against the pension reform have already cost EDF 1 billion euros, according to Reuters. The agency cites union sources on this subject. Social movements would also have an impact on the maintenance and repair schedule for the energy company's nuclear fleet. They could induce a delay of 18 to 24 months in maintenance schedules, delaying the ramp-up of nuclear electricity production by EDF. This while the government has expressly asked the group to raise this production by a third, after the trough of 2022 caused by stress corrosion.