On BFMTV, Romain Baciak, CGT central union delegate reacts to the industrialist's announcement to close two factories in France, threatening 1,254 jobs. The strike has already been voted on at the Cholet site.
Michelin announced on Tuesday the closure before 2026 of its factories in Cholet and Vannes, in western France, due to the “collapse” of tire sales for trucks and vans. Following this announcement, employees at the Cholet site voted to strike. And the CGT wants to see the movement reach all French factories.
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.
Threats on other sites
On BFMTV, Romain Baciak, CGT central union delegate at Michelin, contests the arguments put forward by management. “This is false. The only reasons why Michelin is closing these factories is because Michelin has increased its prices and the competition continues to sell less expensively.”
“Michelin's only interest is to make more and more profits to return more and more to its shareholders,” he continues. And to worry about possible other closures of sites “which are in difficulty”.
Faced with these announcements, the representative announces that the “employees of Cholet have voted to strike”.
“It is a spontaneous movement of anger and revolt in the face of job cuts. We will then see what the general assemblies of employees in struggle will decide on the actions to be taken,” Bastien You, union representative, told AFP CGT.
“And we are calling on the employees of all French sites to strike to show their discontent and their support for the employees of these two sites” adds Romain Baciak. A day of action could take place in Clermont-Ferrand, a historic Michelin site.
“The French state should look into the subject of these companies which make billions in profits each year, instead of paying them aid each year” believes Romain Baciak.
Olivier Chicheportiche Journalist BFM Business
