Dozens of complaints of transgressive behavior at Plopsa

Studio 100 has appointed Christine Mussche to investigate Plopsa’s corporate culture. The lawyer took his turn after Hans Bourlon, the CEO of Studio 100 and director at Plopsa, was informed about the dozens of testimonies collected by De Tijd.

The newspaper spoke to 52 people between November 2022 and February 2023. These are mainly former employees of various departments of the Belgian Plopsa branch: the personnel department, IT, accounting, sales and marketing, purchasing, Plopsa Hotel… 45 of them testify to incidents with management between 2003 and today.

Fixed pattern

The conversations reveal a pattern of transgressive behaviour. Steve Van den Kerkhof, the CEO of Plopsa, is appointed as the driving force, supported by his two directors. The witnesses talk about name calling, insults, an excessive 24/7 work culture in which holidays and rest periods are not respected, bullying and turning people against each other.

At Studio Plopsa, the official name of Plopsa De Panne, which has 75 permanent employees, turnover is high. According to many witnesses, the reason lies not only with Van den Kerkhof, but also with his close associates. Everyone confirms that Van den Kerkhof is the captain and that the chief commercial officer (CCO) and chief finance officer (CFO) do not just execute the strategy, but use the same brutal tactics as their CEO.

Response studio 100

Studio 100 responded to an article in De Tijd on Friday evening, which refers to dozens of testimonies of transgressive behavior at amusement park group Plopsa. “We have received serious reports via De Tijd about the working environment at our amusement park division Plopsa. We take these reports very seriously and have therefore launched a thorough and independent investigation,” it says.

“The research is led by master Christine Mussche. As long as the research is ongoing, we retain confidence in the management of Plopsa. Studio 100 wishes to emphasize that guaranteeing a safe environment, both for employees and visitors, remains an absolute priority.”