Some French Michelin tire factories were closed for several weeks due to the decline in the sector’s global market, the group reported on Tuesday, citing information from Le Parisien.
Currently, these stops concern special tires. The plants in Troyes (Aube, agricultural tires) and Puy-en-Velay (Haute Loire, civil engineering) are closed for about three weeks, with employees partially on strike, “to compensate for cyclical reductions in the volume of work,” Michelin explained. .
In the automobile sector, the issue of the decline in activity was also “raised on several occasions” at the facilities in Cholet (Maine-et-Loire), Vannes (Morbihan) and Tours (Indre-et-Loire), which manufacture semi-trailers. -finished products and tires, the group said.
“For many months, these sites have been experiencing drops in activity due to structural loading problems. The group, together with the sites and social partners, is working to find solutions,” according to the company.
These pauses are related to “the slowdown of the global economy in general, especially in the automobile sector, where manufacturers’ sales have dropped between 20% and 25%,” declared Michelin CEO Florent Menegaux. to Le Parisien.
“Obviously, this affects us. We are obliged to adapt our production to the circumstances, but we must distinguish between the situation and the structure. We never close a site because of a situation,” explained Florent Menegaux.
Employees on leave to “optimize site production”
The employees of the Gravanches plant, in Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme), which produces high-performance tires for cars, are on leave for two weeks “to optimize the production of the plant”, which must be reorganized.
In other French industrial zones, activity is “normal to date”, the group stressed.
The company, with 132,300 employees, announced in 2021 an important plan to eliminate jobs in France, without forced departures.
In recent years, it has also closed its facilities in La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée) and Bamberg (Germany).
Source: BFM TV
