The closure of the Bridgestone plant in Béthune, a political issue

Bridgestone's announcement caused a stir right up to the top of the state.

The Japanese group, world leader in the tire market, will close the Béthune plant, which employs 863 people in Pas-de-Calais.

Immediately, the government and the LR president of the Hauts-de-France region, Xavier Bertrand, denounced a "betrayal of trust".

"The closure of the Béthune plant is a shock, but it is also a brutal decision on the form and incomprehensible on the substance", declared the spokesperson of the executive Gabriel Attal.

Because it could well become a symbol, while social plans have multiplied in recent months due to the coronavirus crisis.

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A "cold anger" within the executive

The government, at the Elysee Palace as much as at Bercy, feels that it has done everything to avoid the worst.

An adviser to the Ministry of the Economy speaks of the "cold anger" he feels: "We regularly extended a hand to the management of Bridgestone, they never seized it."

The Japanese group, however, has regular exchanges with state services.

"We had identified the lack of investment", laments an actor in the file.

For several months, Bercy has been offering aid to modernize the site and even recently as part of the recovery plan.

Xavier Bertrand sides with the government

In this context, the government spokesperson, Gabriel Attal, goes so far as to refer to a "betrayal".

“The closure of the Béthune plant is a shock, but it is also a brutal decision in terms of form and incomprehensible in substance. The company underinvested in the plant for the benefit of other sites and was unable to establish the conditions for a healthy social dialogue. It is also this company which made no proposal when the State and the Hauts-de-France region presented support measures within the framework of the relaunch ", he criticized.

Xavier Bertrand immediately sided with the government.

In a joint statement with the executive, the president of the Hauts-de-France region denounced the "brutality" of this announcement and asked Bridgestone to study "alternative scenarios".

Because its region has already been severely affected by the closure of two major tire manufacturing sites: Continental in the Oise (683 employees in 2010) and Goodyear in Amiens-Nord (1,143 employees in 2014).

The closure of #Bridgestone in Béthune is a premeditated assassination.

We are dealing with cynics and liars.

If they want to leave, we will fight to ensure that they assume their responsibilities.

pic.twitter.com/4sRCDYX9dU

- Xavier Bertrand (@xavierbertrand) September 16, 2020

Send the message that the State is fully mobilized

According to Bridgestone management, the closure of the Béthune site is not directly linked to the coronavirus crisis.

According to the Japanese group, the plant has been experiencing difficulties for a long time and is "the least efficient" among the ten or so of the group in Europe.

Bridgestone also highlighted competition from low-cost Asian brands, especially Chinese.

But the government knows that announcements of layoffs are likely to multiply in the coming months.

The executive therefore intends to send the message that the State is fully mobilized.