Partial or reduced activity on several sites: Michelin is going through severe turbulence in France. Until further factory closures? Management and staff representatives are meeting this Wednesday, October 9, in Clermont-Ferrand.
“Social disaster predicted”: these are the words of the Sud Michelin union to describe, on its website, the immediate future of the manufacturer in France. And while the group communicated a lot in the spring on the “decent salary”, the CFE-CGC for its part recalls that “the priority is to have a job”.
The Gravanches factory shut down at the end of October
As for the CGT, the section of the Gravanches site, in Clermont-Ferrand, criticizes the leave measures taken as part of a forced shutdown of the factory planned for the last week of October (before another week of closing at the end of the year). This site, specialized in the production of very high-end tires, is suffering like others from the crisis in the automotive sector, other specialties also being affected, as shown by the partial activity measures taken very recently on the site. Blavozy site, near Le Puy, where civil engineering tires are produced.
The drop in activity first hits the Cholet, Vannes and Joué-lès-Tours sites, for which the company’s unions triggered an economic alert in June. The conclusions of the requested expert will be presented this Wednesday, in Clermont-Ferrand, during the central economic and social council, which brings together management and staff representatives.
“Worrying situation”
They will not fail to express the serious concerns of the Bibs of France, wherever they are, even if the turmoil seems to be concentrated for the moment in the west, as the president admitted. of the group without convolutions, on September 18, during his hearing before the National Assembly. “Yes, the situation is worrying on these sites because they are in sectors in difficulty,” declared Florent Menegaux, before covering the country.
The situation in France is worrying […]. The consequence is that this may lead us to restructure because we are no longer competitive.
At the end of 2023, these restructurings took the form of announcements of site closures, by 2025, in Germany and the United States, which represented nearly 3,000 job cuts.
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In France, the last factory to close its doors was that of La Roche-sur-Yon (heavy-duty tires, 619 employees), in 2020. Michelin still employs nearly 17,000 people in France, including around 10,000 on the company’s sites. Clermont agglomeration.
Patrice Campo
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