On Oct. 30, the stirrings of a corporate Halloween were visible in the heart of the euro-area economy — with nary a Donald Trump-style tariff in sight.
While hundreds of French workers protested a potential sale of struggling chemicals firm Vencorex to a subsidiary of China’s Wanhua Chemical Group, employees at Volkswagen threatened to strike over a cost-saving plan that could bring unprecedented German plant closures as the automaker’s 15-year dominance in China comes to an end.
Both industrial scares show the scale of Chinese pressure bearing down on European firms, which will keep hurting regardless of who occupies the White House. Luxury heavyweights like LVMH and Kering are being whipsawed by a weaker and more discreet Chinese consumer — as evidenced by a planned temple of bling in Beijing whose opening has been delayed.
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