WHEN EDF’S NUCLEAR production DIVISION BECOMES A “NEXUS OF CONTRACTS”: A LOOK BACK AT THE TRANSFORMATION OF WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN THE NUCLEAR POWER INDUSTRY

Abstract

This article examines the transformation of labor management modes, both internal and external (contracting and subcontracting), between 1946 and 2017 within EDF’s Nuclear Production Division (DPN). Focusing on the nature and evolution of inter- and intra-organizational relations, analyzed through the prism of theories of the firm and of social regulation, it is found that a contractual logic gradually imposed itself within the company, in contrast to discourses that emphasized a logic of partnership. The author identifies the main phases in the process of transforming workforce management methods, in the light of contextual, industrial and political changes. The article questions the effects of the growing role of “contract” and contractualization in management methods as well as of the emergence of a managerial logic focused on costs and budgetary rigor. The impacts of such changes on the work performed by internal staff and contractors are analyzed as well as the impact on the quality of their interactions and on learning processes and skills.