TURKMENISTAN: TOUGH TIMES FOR BOUYGUES

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 000496 SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EEB E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2019 TAGS: PGOV EIND TX FR SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: TOUGH TIMES FOR BOUYGUES REF: ASHGABAT 0086 Classified By: Charge Richard Miles, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) Following a meeting with his boss two weeks ago, one expatriate employee of French construction firm, Bouygues, was unexpectedly sacked by his boss by e-mail. Several expatriate employees at Bouygues (strictly protect throughout) have told Economic Officer in the past week about the "terrible ambiance" in the company, citing this firing of a well-respected colleague as one reason. This person's replacement arrived in country right after he left, which means -- because of hiring and visa formalities -- that the company identified the replacement at least two months ago. Apparently, a new co-country manager has joined Bouygues Turkmen Managing Director, Charlie Senter, who may or may not be leaving the country -- no one is telling the staff, which adds to concern that they may lose their jobs at this time of high unemployment in France. In addition, one expat employee said on April 16 that former Chief Executive Officer of Bouygues Turkmen Aldo Carbonara was fired for embezzlement. ¶2. (C) COMMENT: EU-Tacis Advisor, Michael Wilson, said in a conversation on April 17 that many Russian, French, and Turkish companies operating locally are shedding employees because their money isn't going as far as it used to because of inflation, the redenominated manat and unified exchange rate, which has forced them to get rid of dead weight. He thinks that time caught up with Bouygues, for which the current financial climate is especially difficult. The company owes too much money and the company's risk is very high in Turkmenistan, since it has one customer: the Government of Turkmenistan. END COMMENT. MILES