US Business

French cement giant Lafarge SA was slapped with a $778 million fine Tuesday for making millions in payments to the Islamic State and another jihadist group to build its business in Syria.

The US Justice Department said the company and its Syrian subsidiary actively sought the Islamic State (IS) group’s help to squeeze out competitors when the radical Islamists controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2013-2014, operating an effective “revenue sharing agreement” with them.

It also paid access and protection money to associates of IS and the similarly radical Al-Nusrah Front, ultimately earning some $70 million in revenues during the period, with a Lafarge executive saying the cooperation was “to share the cake.”

Lafarge agreed to the fine and to plead guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to US-designated foreign terrorist organizations, the first time a corporation has faced the charge.

– ‘Unthinkable choice’ –

US officials said Lafarge, now owned by Swiss giant Holcim Group, made itself a handmaiden to terror for profits.

“In the midst of a civil war, Lafarge made the unthinkable choice to put money into the hands of ISIS, one of the world’s most barbaric terrorist organizations, so that it could continue selling cement,” US prosecutor Breon Peace said, using another acronym for IS.

“This unprecedented charge and resolution reflect the extraordinary crimes committed and demonstrates that corporations that take actions in contravention of our national security interests in violation of the law will be held to account,” Peace said.

In a statement, Lafarge said the company and its defunct subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria “have accepted responsibility for the actions of the individual executives involved.”

“We deeply regret that this conduct occurred and have worked with the US Department of Justice to resolve this matter.”

Holcim, which took over Lafarge in 2015 without knowledge of the Syria business dealings, said it had been cleared of any wrongdoing by US authorities.

“None of the conduct involved Holcim, which has never operated in Syria, or any Lafarge operations or employees in the United States,” it said.

Holcim shares traded in Switzerland were suspended temporarily when the announcement was made but ended the day up 2.8 percent at 42.82 Swiss francs ($43.07). 

– Millions in payments –

Lafarge began operating a 680 million euro ($670 million) cement plant in  northern Syria in 2010, the year IS swept the region with a brutal campaign to establish its extremist “caliphate.”

That sparked a counter-offensive by the Iraq military and Syrian Kurdish forces backed by the US-led international coalition in the region.

The US designated IS and Al-Nusrah terror organizations, threatening tough penalties against anyone working with them.

Rather than withdraw like other companies, Lafarge kept working to market its cement, the Justice Department said.

From 2013 to 2104, it paid IS and Al-Nusrah around $5.9 million, some for raw materials, some as payments based on the volume of cement sold and some simply as monthly “donations.”

Lafarge paid another $1.1 million to intermediaries between the two groups.

It also worked out a deal with IS to make it harder for cheaper Turkish cement suppliers to sell their goods in the same area, allowing Lafarge to keep its prices higher.

– Sharing ‘the cake’ –

Company executives knew of the arrangement, the Justice Department said.

In 2014, a senior supervisory official who reported directly to Lafarge’s chief executive wrote to officials in the Syria subsidiary about negotiations with IS.

“We have to maintain the principle that we are ready to share the ‘cake,’ if there is a ‘cake,'” he wrote, defining cake as “profit.” 

Lafarge “negotiated and made unlawful payments at a time when these groups were gaining territory and brutalizing innocent civilians in Syria and elsewhere and were actively plotting against Americans,” said US Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen.

Lafarge still faces charges in France for complicity in crimes against humanity.

In May, a French appeals court approved the charge, opening the door for a trial of the company and eight executives, including former CEO Bruno Lafont.

Lafarge continues to fight that case, but now faces the possibility of the introduction of evidence from the US prosecution.

Unlike in the United States, it does not have the option of negotiating a settlement, which is disallowed under French anti-terrorism statutes.

Britain’s Liz Truss on Tuesday battled to salvage her position as prime minister, after market turmoil at her tax-slashing plans forced a series of humiliating U-turns that have put her job in jeopardy.

The beleaguered leader — only six weeks into her tenure — met senior ministers for their weekly cabinet, the day after new chancellor of the exchequer Jeremy Hunt announced almost all her debt-fuelled tax cuts would be reversed.

Truss reiterated her government “had gone too far and too fast” in its mini-budget unveiled last month, her office said, as she bids to stabilise weeks of economic and political tumult sparked by the package.

Hunt — who replaced her sacked ally Kwasi Kwarteng last Friday — urged ministers “to look at finding ways to save taxpayers’ money,” ahead of detailing the government’s revised medium-term fiscal plans on Halloween.

“The cabinet are fully supportive of the prime minister and it was an effective and in-depth discussion,” Truss’s spokesman told reporters, denying there were any calls for the embattled premier to resign.

But even Conservative MPs are publicly joining opposition lawmakers in declaring her position untenable, with the 47-year-old’s credibility seemingly in tatters.

Less than two months after electing her Tory leader, a new YouGov poll of the party’s membership found a stunning reversal in her fortunes, with a majority now saying she should go.

The pollster also found she was the most unpopular leader it has ever tracked, scoring a net favourability of -70.

“Unprecedented unpopularity,” tweeted YouGov’s Patrick English.

– Spending cuts –

The government’s September 23 mini-budget sent bond yields spiking and the pound collapsing to a record dollar-low on fears of rocketing UK debt.

Truss had already staged two embarrassing U-turns, scrapping tax cuts for the richest earners and on company profits, before then firing close friend Kwarteng.

On Monday, his replacement Hunt announced that not only would the remaining tax curbs be reversed, but a previously two-year cap on consumer energy bills would now be limited to six months.

He estimated all the changes would raise about £32 billion ($36 billion) per year, after economists estimated the government faced a £60-billion black hole. Hunt also warned of tough spending cuts.

His interventions sent the British pound soaring against the dollar and euro, while bond yields dipped.

The International Monetary Fund said in a statement Tuesday that recent announcements by UK authorities “signal commitment to fiscal discipline” and help align policies in the fight against inflation.

At its annual meetings last week, the IMF had urged London to maintain “coherent and consistent” policies.

Truss sought to draw a line under the largely self-inflicted crisis by apologising in a BBC interview Monday — but she insisted she would remain in office.

It followed a day branded farcical by critics, in which she failed to turn up to an urgent question tabled by the leader of the main Labour opposition in parliament, instead sending cabinet colleague Penny Mordaunt.

She is set to return to the House of Commons on Wednesday for a session of Prime Minister’s Questions seen as a crucial, possibly last, opportunity to reassert her authority.

– ‘Ghost PM’ –

Following Monday’s performance, The Sun tabloid branded Truss “the Ghost PM”, while left-wing tabloid The Mirror called the situation a “catastrophic humiliation”.

Even The Daily Telegraph, typically loyal to Conservatives, questioned her future. 

“It’s hard to conceive of a more serious political and economic crisis in recent times than that which Britain now faces,” its editorial said.

The paper added she faced “the ignominy” of becoming the country’s second shortest-serving prime minister in history.

Under current party rules, she cannot be challenged internally through a no-confidence vote in the first year, but speculation is rife they could be changed to allow for a ballot.

Conservative MP Roger Gale said Monday Hunt had become “de facto prime minister”, as several MPs publicly urged her to resign.

“I think her position is untenable,” Conservative MP Charles Walker told Sky News.

Armed forces minister James Heappey said Tuesday that Truss had “owned” her mistake but cautioned that she could not repeat such errors.

“Given how skittish our politics are… I don’t think that there’s the opportunity to make any more mistakes,” he told Sky News.

French cement giant Lafarge SA was slapped with a $778 million fine Tuesday for making millions in payments to the Islamic State and another jihadist group to build its business in Syria.

The US Justice Department said the company and its Syrian subsidiary actively sought the Islamic State (IS) group’s help to squeeze out competitors when the radical Islamists controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2013-2014, operating an effective “revenue sharing agreement” with them.

It also paid access and protection money to associates of IS and the similarly radical Al-Nusrah Front, ultimately earning some $70 million in revenues during the period, with a Lafarge executive saying the cooperation was “to share the cake.”

Lafarge agreed to the fine and to plead guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to US-designated foreign terrorist organizations, the first time a corporation has faced the charge.

– ‘Unthinkable choice’ –

US officials said the company, now owned by Swiss giant Holcim Group, made itself a handmaiden to terror for profits.

“In the midst of a civil war, Lafarge made the unthinkable choice to put money into the hands of ISIS, one of the world’s most barbaric terrorist organizations, so that it could continue selling cement,” Justice Department prosecutor Breon Peace said, using another acronym for IS.

“This unprecedented charge and resolution reflect the extraordinary crimes committed and demonstrates that corporations that take actions in contravention of our national security interests in violation of the law will be held to account,” Peace said.

In a statement, Lafarge said the company and its defunct subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria “have accepted responsibility for the actions of the individual executives involved.”

“We deeply regret that this conduct occurred and have worked with the US Department of Justice to resolve this matter.”

Holcim, which took over Lafarge in 2015 without knowledge of the Syria business dealings, said it had been cleared of any wrongdoing by US authorities.

“None of the conduct involved Holcim, which has never operated in Syria, or any Lafarge operations or employees in the United States,” it said in a separate statement.

– Millions in payments –

Lafarge began operating a 680 million euro ($670 million) cement plant in the Jalabiyeh region of Northern Syria in 2010, the year IS swept the region with a brutal campaign to establish its extremist “califate.”

That sparked a counter-offensive by the Iraq military and Syrian Kurdish forces backed by the US-led international coalition in the region.

The US designated IS and Al-Nusrah terror organizations, threatening tough penalties against anyone who worked with them.

Rather than withdraw like other companies, Lafarge kept working to market its cement, the Justice Department said.

From 2013 to 2104, it paid IS and Al-Nusrah around $5.9 million, some for raw materials, some as payments based on the volume of cement sold and some simply as monthly “donations,” the department said.

Lafarge paid another $1.1 million to intermediaries facilitating business with the two groups.

The firm also worked out a deal with IS to make it harder for cheaper Turkish cement suppliers to sell their goods in the same area, effectively allowing Lafarge to keep its prices higher, according to US authorities.

– Sharing ‘the cake’ –

Company executives knew of the arrangement, the Justice Department said.

In 2014, a senior supervisory official who reported directly to Lafarge’s chief executive wrote to officials in the Syria subsidiary about negotiations with IS.

“We have to maintain the principle that we are ready to share the ‘cake,’ if there is a ‘cake,'” he wrote, defining cake as “profit.” 

Lafarge “negotiated and made unlawful payments at a time when these groups were gaining territory and brutalizing innocent civilians in Syria and elsewhere and were actively plotting against Americans,” said US Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen in a New York press conference.

Lafarge still faces trial in France on a charge of complicity in crimes against humanity.

In May, a French appeals court approved the charge, opening the door for a trial of the company and eight executives, including former CEO Bruno Lafont.

Lafarge continues to fight that case.

Rights activists hope the case will serve as a bellwether for prosecuting multinationals accused of turning a blind eye to human rights violations as they operate in war-torn countries.

Workers at an Amazon warehouse near Albany voted decisively against establishing a union, US officials announced Tuesday, dealing a setback to the fledgling labor drive at the e-commerce behemoth.

The tally was 406 against Amazon Labor Union’s (ALU) proposal and 206 in support of the organization, said a spokeswoman for the National Labor Relations Board.

The election marks the second straight defeat for the ALU, which surged to prominence in April following its upset win at a large Staten Island warehouse that voted to become Amazon’s first US facility to unionize.

The ALU did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the group’s president, Christian Smalls, said on Twitter before the counting that he was “proud” of the effort regardless of the outcome.

“Taking on a Trillion dollar company can never be a loss for workers,” Smalls tweeted. 

“We will continue to empower all workers to give them the right to unionize. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take!”

Amazon, which has continued to contest its defeat in the first Staten Island vote, said it was pleased with Tuesday’s outcome.

“We’re glad that our team in Albany was able to have their voices heard, and that they chose to keep the direct relationship with Amazon as we think that this is the best arrangement for both our employees and customers,” said spokesperson Kelly Nantel. 

The elections at Amazon have come amid a wave of labor drives at consumer-facing companies, including Starbucks, Apple, REI and Chipotle, all of which have voted to unionize one or more store or restaurant. 

But Amazon’s initial victory in Staten Island was on a much bigger scale, providing a jolt to the US labor movement while propelling Smalls and other ALU leaders to prominence. 

Smalls, a former Staten Island Amazon worker, and other current and ex-employees established the group  2021, denouncing Amazon’s rigid workforce practices during the pandemic and arguing a union was the way towards better pay and benefits.

But after prevailing in the 8,000 employee JFK8 warehouse, the ALU had also lost a second election in May at the smaller LDJ5 warehouse, which is also in Staten Island.

Besides trying to spread the ALU to new Amazon sites, the union’s leaderships is also facing barriers in getting Amazon to come to the bargaining table to recognize the union and negotiate a contract.

Amazon has refused to accept the election outcome in the first Staten Island vote, arguing the results should be tossed out in light of alleged improprieties.

Last month, an NLRB official rejected Amazon’s claims as groundless after a 24-day hearing on the e-commerce giant’s claims.

But Amazon has said it plans to appeal that decision.

Striking workers held rallies across France on Tuesday to demand higher wages in response to soaring inflation, amplifying a protest by refinery workers that has emptied petrol stations and caused headaches for millions of motorists.

The strike caused fewer transport disruptions than feared, though unions have vowed further action against President Emmanuel Macron in coming weeks — in particular over a hostly contested pensions reform.

“It’s a shame it had to come to blockades for something to happen,” said Nadine, a 45-year-old employee in the metalworking industry who was among more than 1,000 demonstrators in Strasbourg, northeast France.

“But today if we don’t block anything, no one listens,” she said.

Among a crowd of some 1,800 marching in the southern city of Montpellier, Magali Mallet, a medical secretary, said she was there because many workers were “living on a knife’s edge”.

The interior ministry said 107,000 people took part in marches across the country, including 13,000 in Paris — an estimate far below the 70,000 reported by the CGT union.

Anti-capitalist “black bloc” protesters also joined the demo in the capital, spraying graffiti and smashing windows at a bank and a BMW dealership before being dispersed by riot police.

The ministry said 11 people were arrested in Paris and nine officers injured in clashes with the protesters, with four arrests elsewhere.

The broader strike came after workers at several oil refineries and depots operated by energy giant TotalEnergies voted to extend walkouts that are now in their third week.

The blockades have seriously disrupted fuel distribution across the country, particularly in northern and central France and the Paris region.

“We’re going to seek a 10 percent pay hike. With the cost of living rising, and energy costs, we need it — there are more and more poor workers,” said Laurent Leger, 59, at the Paris march.

– ‘Serious consequences’ –

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said that less than a quarter of petrol stations nationwide were experiencing shortages, down from 30 percent previously.

Her government used requisition powers to order some of the workers back to fuel depots, a move that infuriated unions but has so far been upheld in the courts.

But officials are also pushing bosses to acknowledge the wage demands, with Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin saying Tuesday that there was “a salary problem” in France, and urging employers “to increase pay when possible”.

Workers have also been striking in the nuclear power sector, potentially hampering efforts to restart reactors down for maintenance or safety work.

Power grid operator RTE warned Tuesday that “any extension of the social movement” at the nuclear power stations would have “serious consequences” on electricity provision this winter.

Macron said last week only 30 out of 56 nuclear reactors were online, while the country hoped to have 45 working by January.

But French state energy provider EDF said Saturday that it was postponing plans to bring five of the halted reactors back on stream.

– Tense autumn? –

Beyond transport and other public-sector workers, unions had hoped to bring out staff in industries such as food and healthcare.

The education ministry said less than six percent of its workers had walked out, though that rate reached 23 percent for vocational schools.

The strike could herald a tense autumn and winter as Macron also seeks to implement his flagship domestic policy of raising the French retirement age to 64 or 65, up from 62 currently.

The economic squeeze partly caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, along with the failure of Macron’s party to secure an overall majority in June legislative polls, could also inflame public anger.

A poll by the Elabe group found that one in three French people would be prepared to take part in a strike or protest in the coming weeks to demand pay increases as inflation soars. 

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