AREVA PARIS (Reuters) - Areva (>> Areva) unions said on Friday they opposed plans to sell all or parts of the struggling group's nuclear reactors business to French power group EDF (>> EDF), arguing this would break up the group and would not solve its financial woes.
Loss-making Areva, which is 87 percent owned by the French state, is aiming to put together a plan by July that is set to include partnerships and a capital increase.
Areva's management on Thursday told staff representatives of plans to sell the group's nuclear reactor business to EDF as well of alternative scenarios including transferring to EDF its engineering business of large nuclear reactor projects, unions sources had said.
"The members of the Group Committee France oppose dismantling the group through a total or a partial sale of Areva NP to EDF," the CFDT, CGT, FCE-CGC, FO and UNSA unions said in a joint statement.
Unions said they were asking Areva to look at "alternative solutions" that would enable Areva to keep industrial assets crucial for the needs of the sector and avoid job losses.
The head of state-owned Areva said on Wednesday that the government was considering the possibility that EDF take control of Areva's nuclear reactors business.
Areva and EDF will present concrete proposals in the coming weeks about possible tie-ups following a request for closer cooperation by the government, Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.
(Reporting by Benjamin Mallet, Dominique Vidalon; editing by Leigh Thomas)
