Bonum Certa Men Certa

The EPO Does Not Want Skilled (and 'Expensive') Staff, Layoffs a Growing Concern

French unions Reference: "With French Election Over, Unions Fear Layoffs"



Summary: A somewhat pessimistic look (albeit increasingly realistic look) at the European Patent Office, where unions are under fire for raising legitimate concerns about the direction taken by the management since a largely French team was put in charge

PDF FILES WITH GRAPHS in them (internal EPO data) have already taught us all we needed to know (we learned from them what examiners are seeing). Patent quality at the EPO is dying if not dead. It's only a matter of time before the public finds out about it and applicants come to grips with it. This would have a devastating effect on anyone who was granted an EP (European Patent) before Battistelli and potentially affect the valuation of companies to the point where they're becoming insolvent.



"One might hesitantly say that union-busting agenda is intended to set the tone or prepare the ground for appalling 'reforms', such as layoffs."What we're seeing inside the EPO is horrifying for outside observers and even mortifying for insiders. It looks like they're about to lose their jobs. Battistelli, a nontechnical charlatan, even thinks he can replace human operators and examiners with machines. What a lunacy this is!

It's easy to see why Battistelli attacks staff that speaks out, notably staff representatives. These people are seeing the writings on the wall and speak to colleagues about it. The latest attack on staff (blaming everything on them, especially the senior ones) reinforces the belief that the EPO will replace highly-specialised examiners with junior workers (or rubberstampers) on short-term contracts and no lucrative benefits that are necessary to attract true talent (the EPO is no longer an attractive employer).

"It's easy to see why Battistelli attacks staff that speaks out, notably staff representatives. These people are seeing the writings on the wall and speak to colleagues about it."The so-called 'social study' will be the subject of future posts of ours. "There seem to be some interesting discrepancies between the "Social Study" and "OHSRA"," one reader told us. Prepare for some major debunking of the EPO's management with its talking point for next month's conference. Given the spending waste of over a millions Euros per year on PR, expect some media to repeat the lies as early as next week (starting tomorrow). Managing IP is already coordinating with the EPO a release of a bogus 'interview' with Battistelli (part 2), in which he will be allowed to spread his latest misinformation (which he himself commissioned with EPO budget). Managing IP is generally regarded as somewhat of an EPO mouthpiece these days.

"Battistelli has put the EPO on a euthanasia plan."Putting aside the so-called 'social study' and conference (actually lobbying the Administrative Council just before an important meeting where social climate is on the agenda), let's not forget that EPO managers "harass, attack/charge methodically their victims on Fridays and/or on their birthdays or before holidays," as one insider told us last night. Let's also not forget that they lie about their mistreatment of these people, they allegedly make “demonstrably fabricated accusations,” (we saw that in Munich and now it's happening in The Hague) and they presently witch-hunt representatives in virtually all branches including Berlin (even the President of SUEPO Central was warned). No wonder SUEPO's Web site has not been updated for nearly a fortnight now! Nothing but silence...

"EPO staff is rightly concerned and unless Battistelli and his cronies drop their agenda immediately (the UPC is already failing for them), everyone in Europe will suffer, not just EPO staff."One might hesitantly say that union-busting agenda is intended to set the tone or prepare the ground for appalling 'reforms', such as layoffs. The EPO is unable to hire talent, and even after lowering the employment requirements the hiring is far too slow and members of the recruitment team are leaving (high staff turnover). We saw reports about it and the numbers speak for themselves. Battistelli has put the EPO on a euthanasia plan. Those who don't leave or retire early will be increasingly -- more and more over time -- be pushed out or face growing demands that are not fulfillable. It's like they were set up to fail, so that Team Battistelli can replace them with low-wage, obedient staff that are on limited contract, making them disposable and without pension liabilities. It does not make fiscal sense for Europe, but maybe it makes fiscal sense to Battistelli and large corporations that wish to amass tens of thousands of patents (each!) in Europe. They just want another USPTO.

The next post will present more facts supportive of what was stated above. EPO staff is rightly concerned and unless Battistelli and his cronies drop their agenda immediately (the UPC is already failing for them), everyone in Europe will suffer, not just EPO staff.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Things Will Only Get Better (as We Go Backwards)
It only gets better. If you go back in time.
UK High Court Shows SRA is Totally Useless in Curbing SLAPPs, This Has Impact on Our Reporting on the SRA Next Week
We'll carry on our coverage and soon finish the current series that so we can get on with more time-sensitive ones
 
Gemini Links 22/09/2026: Scout Night, Cybernetic Capitalism, and Thoughts on Companies Forcing People to Adopt Plagiarism Engines
Links for the day
Links 22/09/2026: "An Arsenal of Surveillance" and Slop Bots Suggest Starting Wars
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 193 Out of 200: Breaks GNU and Linux, Tries to Silence Critics, Loses All Money, Looks for Microsoft Allies and Sponsors
The latest emotional knee-jerk reactions serve to confirm what we have long said
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 21, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, September 21, 2026
Links 21/09/2026: "Lies of the Hey Hi (AI) Industry" and Solar Power Is Getting Cheap
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/09/2026: Equinox and Beginner's Guide to Gemini
Links for the day
Links 21/09/2026: "Back On My Bicycle" and American Regime's War on Media Escalates Further
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 192 Out of 200: The Hired Guns of Garrett and Graveley Sent Us USB Sticks (One to Me, One to My Wife) Showing Lozza Talking to Garrett About Censoring/Deplatforming Techrights the Same Time Graveley Was Copy-Pasting Garrett's Lawsuit
Next year we plan to bring this matter to the Court of Appeal
Linux Kernel Becoming a Slopfest - Part 6 - Seeing Who Contaminates Linux With Slop (And Also Admits It)
Today we begin looking at some culprits
2026: The Year Galleries Realised the Need to Flag or Cull Slop Images
Society needs to shun slopfarms, people who use LLM slop (for anything at all), companies that use bots (which they dub "agents"), and so-called 'coders' who volley garbage into project and software hubs
Software Freedom Day Celebrated in 5 or 6 Continent
Software Freedom Day (SFD) 2026 was big this year
SLAPP Censorship - Part 191 Out of 200: Garrett, Graveley and Lozza
They talk to and coordinate with one another
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 20, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, September 20, 2026
Gemini Links 21/09/2026: Digital Hoarder, GTD, Minimalism vs Digital Minimalism, Rejection of LLMs
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2026: "Google Now Asking For Users’ Video Selfies" and Energy Prices Set to Rise
Links for the day
Enjoy the Giving/Sharing, Not Taking
We've long supported what we believed in, even with the little money we had
Links 20/09/2026: Amazon Layoffs, Flock 'Buyouts' (Silent Layoffs)
Links for the day
USCIS and Microsoft Rumours: Curbs on Lowering Salaries by Importing Cheaper Replacements?
It seems like Microsoft's mass layoffs and efforts to cheapen the workforce face obstacles
Gemini Links 20/09/2026: "Music While Working" and Radio Silence
Links for the day
Clownflare Data From Canada
We've like to think many people are attempting to install GNU/Linux over the weekend
SLAPP Censorship - Part 190 Out of 200: Plagiarism, Back Doors, and Sabotage of Linux
This can go on for a decade or longer
Linux Kernel Becoming a Slopfest - Part 5 - Kernel Dependency on Plagiarism Giant Microsoft is a Death Blow to Any Kernel
Microsoft is bringing copyright-infringing slop into Linux
GNU/Linux Has Grown a Lot Lately
Based on Clownflare
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 19, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, September 19, 2026