Along with all its competitors, the company is facing a difficult competitive environment in all segments of the card market, with a significant deterioration in prices and profitability.

In line with the efforts already made over a period of several years, Oberthur Card Systems is willing to organize itself into major centers in each region, in order to achieve economies of scale while maintaining geographical proximity to its customers.

In this context, card personalization centers in the United States will be reorganized into two centers instead of three. The business of the Napperville site (Illinois), which employs 124 people, will be transferred to the Los Angeles (California) and Chantilly (Virginia) sites.

In addition, in order to maintain production in France in a sustainable way, Oberthur Card Systems intends to implement an industrial reorganization plan:

•  the production of high added value SIM cards and manufacturing, currently taking place in Caen, will be kept in France and reorganized alongside the manufacture of bank cards at the single site in Vitre,
•  the production of SIM cards with low added value will take place in existing sites outside Europe.

This plan will be the subject of a consultation process involving the companys staff representative bodies.

In France and in the United States, Oberthur Card Systems will undertake to introduce a number of measures to promote the geographical or professional mobility of its employees.

In particular, every one of the 163 employees at Caen will be offered employment at Vitre or elsewhere within the company, as a minimum.

Oberthur Card Systems has decided to maintain productions in France and in the United States. This industrial reorganization should make a substantial contribution to the companys competitiveness and to the level of service provided to its customers worldwide.