Pierre-Olivier MAZOYER
This post is also available in: French
He work comes from my desire to confront myself with those to whom we announce, at around age 50, after 30 years of seniority in their company, that the company can not give them work anymore, that they have to look for employment elsewhere. One often mentions at the time of thedismissal the impact on the lives of the employees concerned, their pain, the brutality of the split-up, the absence of future. I wanted to get away from the news and meet with former employees of the medium size french city called Montauban, the former Bouyer, Capelle, Valeo employees, several years later… 5 to 6 years at least … These men, women, and couples received me in their current intimate environment (kitchen, dining room, bedroom …). With hindsight, they explained me their new life and the memory they keep of their dismissal. I try in this work to provide some answers to questions that have haunted my nights for months when, when I was a CEO and presented a lay-off plan: Dismissal may indeed be justified, necessary for the survival and development of the company … Oui mais… Yes, but … What happens to those whose jobs are sacrificed to economic reality? How successful are they in rebuilding themselves after the trauma of the termination? Do they find a new job, a happy life? This human approach combines photographic portraits and written stories, both parts of the final exhibition. I also looked for traces of their enterprises by both the memories they held of them, and by going on the site of their old jobs.