Angry workers at a French Sony videotape factory, unhappy at their severance packages, have held the chief executive of Sony France hostage overnight.
Dozens of staff took Serge Foucher hostage on Thursday after he travelled to the videotape plant at Pontonx-sur-l'Adour, in the Landes region of south-west France, as a final courtesy visit to more than 300 sacked workers before the factory closes on 17 April.
Foucher spent the night shut in a meeting room after staff barricaded the entry to the site with tree trunks. Staff are protesting that their pay-offs are less than other Sony workers have received in France.
Local authorities were still attempting to negotiate Foucher's release on Friday morning, with around 80 workers gathered on the picket line.
