“Sad” AND ” angry “The employees of the large Michelin factory in Cholet (Maine et Loire) voted, on Tuesday, November 5, in favor of the strike, after the announcement in the morning, by the group’s management, of the closure before 2026 of the plant, as well as that of Vannes (Morbihan), which has a total of 1,254 employees.
In Cholet, “They put the 900 employees in a room like cows in the slaughterhouse and [leur ont] announced that everything was over”Morgane Royer, who has been employed since “almost ten years” at Michelin and SUD union representative. Cholet employees blocked the site shortly after the management’s announcements. In any case, it planned to stop production until November 13. “It is the thug version of capitalism”denounced the mayor of Cholet, Gilles Bourdouleix (on the right), in front of the employees. “Obviously, the desire for years was to let the situation degenerate and then [d’]come to this brutal decision”he denounced.
In Vannes (Morbihan), “The announcement, made by the director, was received with great silence. “Everyone blames him.”testified Eric Boisgard, employee since 2004 and former CGT union representative.
“Unilateral, brutal and ill-expected decision”
Employees had feared these announcements for several weeks. Talks with unions broke down. For the group’s first union, the CFE-CGC, these closures are “a unilateral, brutal and poorly anticipated decision”denounced its central union delegate, José Tarantini. “It is not a surprise taking into account the industrial activity figures that were only decreasing, and we understand that there could be a restructuring, which does not mean the closure of the facilities”Tarantini stressed.
“Today we close two plants and leave more than 1,200 employees out of work so that Michelin can obtain more profits and give more dividends to its shareholders”protested the central union delegate of the CGT, Romain Baciak.
Michelin is going through a difficult year, with the slowdown in the new vehicle market and Asian competition. “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”declared Michelin CEO Florent Menegaux in an interview with AFP. Michelin had already significantly reduced its presence in France. With those in Poitiers, Toul, Joué-lès-Tours and La Roche-sur-Yon, Michelin will have closed six factories in twenty years.
Industry Minister Marc Ferracci reacted on Tuesday by asking “an exemplary support plan for employees and territories”. For his part, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Antoine Armand, estimated during a trip to Pas-de-Calais that the plant closures announced by Michelin, as well as by Auchan, which plans to eliminate 2,389 jobs in France, “are obviously extremely worrying”.
“Slow deterioration of competitiveness”
The French tire giant is not the only one coughing. The sharp slowdown in the automobile market is causing serious difficulties for European equipment manufacturers and plant closures continue. According to Michelin, these two new closures have become “inevitable” due to Asian competition in tires for vans and heavy vehicles, sectors of the Cholet and Vannes factories.
Michelin’s CEO also questions a “Slow deterioration of competitiveness” of Europe, especially linked to energy costs, which prevent exports. The company is also preparing to close two factories in Germany by 2025. The group’s CFDT estimated in a press release that “Only Michelin decided on the extreme solution”while for Cholet and Vannes there were other possibilities. LDS, for its part, condemned “an unprecedented social betrayal” AND “one of the greatest social disasters in corporate history”.
The Cholet factory employs 955 people, mainly manufacturing small tires for light trucks, a growing segment. “significant decrease” in europe “no prospects for recovery”justifies Michelin. The Vannes plant has 299 employees, who are mainly dedicated to the production of wire ropes for heavy tires.
Le Monde Buying Guides
Reusable water bottles
The best water bottles to replace disposable bottles
Read
Michelin is committed to “support each of the interested employees with tailored solutions”job offers in other companies or within the group, or early retirements. It also promises “participate in the creation of at least as many jobs as are eliminated” in the territory, as happened in La Roche-sur-Yon, where 635 jobs were created in four years and 613 were eliminated, according to the group.
