Hennessy staff strike over plans to bottle cognac in China
By Alban Kacher
Nov 19 (Reuters) -Around 500 staff at Hennessy, the cognac manufacturer owned by French luxury giant LVMH LVMH.PA, went on strike on Tuesday to protest plans to bottle the brandy in China to avoid tariffs, a union representative said.
Beijing imposed duties of more than 30% on imports of bottled brandy from the European Union in October, hitting Hennessy as well as other French companies such as Remy Cointreau RCOP.PA and Pernod Ricard PERP.PA.
Plans to ship cognac in containers and bottle it in China rather than France were discussed by industry body Maisons de Cognac, said Michael Lablanche, a regional representative for the CGT labour union.
Newspaper La Tribune reported that Hennessy was considering a test bulk shipment of cognac by the end of the year.
Bottling in China rather than France would allow companies to circumvent the tariffs but would be a "disaster" for workers, said Lablanche.
Hennessy did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment on its plans and the strike.
Around 500 employees at its bottling plant in Cognac in southwest France had joined the strike so far, half of the plant's workforce, said Lablanche.
Reporting by Alban Kacher; editing by David Evans
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