SAINT-ETIENNE, France (AP) -- Siemens AG sought Tuesday to defuse a nearly daylong incident involving the seizure of two of its executives in France.
A spokeswoman for the German industrial conglomerate said the head of its steel engineering subsidiary Siemens VAI MT is ready to resume discussions with employees who have detained the company's human resources director and another executive at a factory near Lyon since Monday evening.
Workers set bonfires and protested in front of the plant Tuesday.
"Boss-nappings" -- in which workers hold their managers for several hours or days before releasing them, unharmed -- have become more frequent in France over the last year as companies look to cut jobs and workers seek an outlet for their anger.
As part of a restructuring announced last August, Siemens VAI MT aims to cut its work force to about 365 from 600 and close one of its two factories.
Employees of the factory targeted for closure are refusing to meet the executive, Bernhard Fonseka, and have called for his resignation.
