US Edition Its staff held three executives hostage for 18 hours after negotiations about 68 job losses from the closure of a factory in Bellegarde, southern France, collapsed.
Employee spokesman Jean-Jacques Van Slambrouck said the company looked like it was prepared to increase severance payments from £850,000 to £1.6m, after the employees were released on Wednesday.
The company, which produces adhesive films and tapes for a range of industries, revealed that sales to auto makers were down 50pc. The Bellgarde factory, one of three Scapa facilities in France, was targeted for closure because it specialises in making glue often used for car number plates, wiring and wing mirrors .
Chief executive Calvin O'Connor said work at the French factory was now back to normal, and negotiations on pay have resumed and are continuing.
"The factory proposed for closure sells primarily to the auto industry and that has had a major impact this year," he said. "We always have to keep in mind demand on world business when reviewing our operations."
The company is the fifth to suffer from the French trend of "boss-napping", where union workers hold management hostage while trying to negotiate better conditions. But Mr O'Connor said the incident would not put Scapa off from doing business in France.
"I think industrial action is something that happens in different ways in manufacturing worldwide and we're used to different culture as part of our business," he said.
Revenue at Scapa was up 8pc to £92.1m for the six months to September last year, but a sharp drop in demand for adhesives by the car-making industry forced to make 140 employees redundant this year.
The adhesive maker has already imposed a wage freeze and embarked on a cost-cutting programme.
Scapa shares, which have fallen 62pc in the past year, closed down 7pc at 10.25p on Thursday.