Paris (AFP)
The Michelin group presented a "competitiveness plan" which plans to cut up to 2,300 jobs in France over three years, without forced departures, an announcement which has aroused "the surprise and anger" of employees.
A few months after the announcement of the closure of the Bridgestone plant in Béthune, and despite good results, the French tire manufacturer announced a new cut that will affect all its sites in France, with a total of more than 10% of the workforce concerned on the 21,000 employees of the group in the country.
"Michelin is committed to recreating as many jobs as there will be lost," he added, through the development of new in-house activities or the installation of other companies in the territories concerned.
Through this plan, the Bibendum aims "to improve its competitiveness of up to 5% per year" for tertiary activities and for industry, which could mean "within three years a reduction of positions which could range from up to 2,300 ".
- "Michelin destroys jobs" -
The health crisis delayed the announcement of this new restructuring in preparation for 18 months, but did not cause it, underlines the president of Michelin.
The group wants to open negotiations "quickly" with the unions around a "three-year framework agreement".
Employees are torn between "surprise and anger", according to José Tarantini of the CFE-CGC.
"We have been waiting for responses from management since the end of October on a project concerning the tertiary sector and here we have a much larger and ambitious project which also concerns the industrial side", reacted the trade unionist.
At the Cataroux plant in Clermont-Ferrand, many employees discovered Michelin's announcements when they left their post at midday.
But few are those who agreed to speak out, in a hurry to return home or take up their post.
"We do not really know where we are going but, personally, for the moment, I am not worried even if we have our little idea ... We know very well that Cataroux can close especially in a sector like ours", Tanguy, 24, risked himself without giving his name.
"We will be vigilant that the commitments" of the group "are kept, but we have no doubts," for his part assured government spokesman Gabriel Attal.
On the employers' side, the president of Medef Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux underlined that "the French automobile market was -25%".
"We are back to 1975 levels in (number) of car sales."
"It cannot happen without consequences for the suppliers in this sector," he said.
Several political figures also reacted on Twitter.
"Michelin downsizes employment and industrial production in France!", Denounced the national secretary of the PCF Fabien Roussel, while on the right, the president of Debout la France Nicolas Dupont-Aignan called to protect "our jobs to avoid a future industrial desert! ".
Michelin had already made a historic cut of 7,500 jobs in 1999.
More recently, the group cut nearly 1,500 jobs, particularly at its headquarters in Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme) and in the United States.
It also closed the sites of La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée) and Bamberg in Germany.
- Michelin "does not abandon France" -
However, the group is doing well and forecasts positive results for 2020 despite the health crisis.
The dividend distributed per share has tripled since 2009.
"We have always distributed around 35% of our results", explains Florent Menegaux.
"A few years ago, we weren't making results, so we weren't distributing dividends."
In 2020, "Michelin will have distributed 360 million dividends, and 6.4 billion euros in personnel costs, including 1.2 billion in France," he said.
The group has been confronted for ten years with "the massive arrival of low-cost products", underlines the management of Michelin.
"Michelin is not abandoning France" and "will reinvest part of the savings made in the development of new activities", nevertheless assures Mr. Menegaux.
Its 15 industrial sites in France have gradually specialized in high-end, agricultural, industrial or competition tires.
At the same time, Michelin is pursuing "its strategy of locating new high value-added activities in France", such as hydrogen fuel cells, 3D printing, adhesives and the recycling of plastic waste.
By 2030, Michelin wants 30% of its turnover to be generated excluding tires.
bur-tsz-cca-as / pn / dch
© 2021 AFP