Faced with Asian competition in light truck and heavy goods vehicle tires, Michelin is forced to close two of its factories in Cholet and Vannes.
Michelin announced on Tuesday the closure before 2026 of its factories in Cholet and Vannes, in western France, because of the “collapse” in sales of tires for trucks and vans.
The group's management announced this closure on Tuesday morning to the 1,254 employees of the sites concerned.
“It is the collapse of activity that has caused this situation, and I want to tell all these employees that we will not leave anyone behind,” Michelin CEO Florent Menegaux said in an interview.
Tough Asian competition
The closure has become “inevitable” due to Asian competition in van and heavy goods vehicle tires, the sectors of the two factories, but also the “deterioration of Europe's competitiveness”, indicated the management of the French group. in a press release.
In a context of crisis for automotive equipment manufacturers, the group is committed to “supporting each of the employees concerned with tailor-made solutions”, with job offers in other companies or in the group, or even early retirement.
The group's union, worried about the future of these sites, had broken off discussions with management. The large factory in Cholet (Maine-et-Loire) employs 955 employees who mainly manufacture small tires for light trucks (17 inches and less).
This market segment “has experienced a significant decline” in Europe in recent years, “with a drastic reduction in production volumes (…) with no prospect of recovery”, explains Michelin.
The Tours site spared
The Vannes (Morbihan) site has 299 employees who mainly produce metal cables for tires then manufactured in Spain and Italy in particular.
The Breton factory has experienced a continuous decline in its production volumes “due in particular to the change in the level of demand from the group's heavy-duty factories in Europe (…) with no prospect of recovery”, underlines Michelin.
The Tours site (Indre-et-Loire), whose fate also worries the unions, was spared. The group “will also support the two impacted territories by participating in the creation of at least as many jobs as those eliminated,” he promised.
For the immediate future, Michelin will stop production on the two sites until November 13 to “allow management and union organizations to offer collective and individual discussions to employees”.
The group is going through a difficult year with the slowdown in the new vehicle market. Michelin had already closed its La-Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée) site in 2020, and is preparing the closure of two factories in Germany by 2025.
