Michelin unions feared a black scenario for the Cholet (Maine-et-Loire) and Vannes (Morbihan) sites. This has now been confirmed by the French group’s management. Production at these two plants, which employ a total of 1254 people, will cease for good. “by early 2026 at the latest”, announces the Michelin Group, which has 132,000 employees worldwide, including 19,000 in France. The 300 employees at Vannes make metal bead wires for reinforcing truck tires. Their 963 colleagues in Cholet produce commercial vehicle tires..

“This is obviously a shock for employees, admits Florent Ménégaux, Managing Director of the Michelin Group. Activity at these two sites will not resume until next Monday, to give everyone time to absorb this announcement. But it’s important for business to resume and for everyone to remain confident. Michelin employees are highly qualified and recognized for their skills. Each one of them will receive individual support until they find another job, promises the head of the company renowned for its social commitment. Early retirement, internal and external mobility schemes will be offered, as they are whenever a site closes.

Priority to social support

The last time Michelin closed a plant in France was in 2019. The La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée) site, which produced top-of-the-range truck tires, employed 600 people at the time. The closure also had an impact on the workforce at the Cholet plant, which produced rubber compounds for La Roche-sur-Yon. But today, Michelin cites La Roche-sur-Yon as an example: 614 of the 618 employees found new jobs in the year following the closure. “We even decided to offer employees who were not satisfied at the end of their trial period with a new employer to return to Michelin and resume the support program.”says the group boss.

Michelin’s management assures us: “all alternative scenarios have been analyzed and studied to avoid closure”.. But the market for passenger car and light truck tires, as well as truck tires, is now under attack from cheaper Asian groups. Michelin points to the deterioration in competitiveness in Europe due to wage inflation and rising energy prices. “The cost of energy is twice as high in Europe as in the United States or Asia. reminds Florent Ménégaux. Today, our manufacturing costs in Europe are twice as high as they will be in 2019.. The Group has pledged to help create the following jobs at both sites “at least the same number of jobs”. as in La Roche-sur-Yon, where a business park dedicated to mobility has been set up.

Under these conditions, how will Michelin manage to maintain its 19,000 jobs in France, including 9,000 in 15 plants? “We’ll never be able to guarantee jobs, reminds Florent Ménégaux. In a globalized market like ours, that would be irresponsible.. Even so, Michelin emphasizes that, with 132,000 employees – 90,000 of them in industrial jobs – France will remain the Group’s leading industrial country in Europe, both in terms of number of sites and number of employees.