This Tuesday, November 5, is a cold shower for Michelin employees. The group announced the cessation of production at the Cholet site, in Maine-et-Loire, and that of Vannes, in Morbihan.
These two sites, established since 1970 and 1963, were specialized in the production of heavy goods vehicle and light truck tires. “When we are told that we are closing a business, it hurts”testifies Fabrice, 49 years old, Michelin employee.
Read also : DIRECT. Michelin: 1,254 jobs will be cut, anger at the Cholet and Vannes factories
Florent Menegaux, the president of the Michelin group, explained this choice to Ouest-France. “We exhausted all avenues, we looked to see if we could change the production tools, if we could increase the workload. But the market environment continued to deteriorate. The truck tire market, in which the Vannes and Cholet sites are positioned, has structurally fallen in Europe. We can no longer export peacefully. »
The group is committed to supporting each employee. He specifies that “some of them would benefit from pre-retirement measures”others for support in professional retraining, or even for“compensation for a possible pay gap of up to €400 gross per month for three years”.
Another commitment from Michelin to the areas of Cholet and Vannes: to create as many jobs as it destroys. The closure of these two sites will mark the end of the presence of Michelin tire factories in the West.
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