SEMOY, France (AP) — Workers at a French chemical plant owned by the U.S. company Dow Chemical freed their boss Tuesday after holding him overnight to protest the closing of the factory in the Loire Valley.
Christian Siest, the director of the Rohm and Hass chemical factory, was given access to the bathroom, water, telephones and the Internet while he was held, said Christophe Fillippi, a worker at the plant.
Siest was locked up Monday afternoon.
Fillipi said workers want management to either retract the decision to close the factory, or pay each of the 97 employees a "decent" sum of money, as indemnity.
Negotiations were under way Tuesday afternoon.
The Rohm and Haas factory, located 70 miles (110 kilometers) southwest of Paris, was bought by Dow Chemical on April 1. It produces adhesives and glue.
"Creators of profits and of the unemployed," read one sign stuck up on the entrance to the factory.
"Bossnapping" has become a common tactic by French workers seeking concessions from management.
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Associated Press Writer Rachel Kurowski in Paris contributed to this report.