Michelin signs €2m deal for employment revitalisation in Vannes

Vannes, France – Michelin and the French government have signed an agreement to help offset job losses from the planned closure of the Michelin plant in Vannes.

As part of the “employment revitalisation agreement”, signed 26 June, Michelin will provide €2.16 million in financial support over three years to job creation in the area.

Under the deal, Michelin will “support the creation of at least as many jobs as were lost in the territory” after it announced the plant closure in November last year. (ERJ report)

That decision, Michelin noted, was due to “structural difficulties in the truck tire market and in the production of associated metal reinforcements, particularly in Europe.”

The deal includes direct aid for businesses in the region, with grants of €5,000 - €10,000 or low-interest loans of €10,000 - €12,000 per new job created.

It also includes measures “to promote the hiring of former Michelin employees from the Vannes site.”

Indirect support will back organisations and projects that help with “job creation, industrial skills development, removing employment barriers and assisting with site redevelopment.”

The Vannes plant, which employs 299 people, mainly produces metal reinforcements: handling all stages of the manufacturing process.

Its products are used in the manufacture of truck tires and passenger car tires at Michelin sites in Spain, Italy and the rest of Europe.

As previously reported by ERJ, Michelin maintains that production volumes at the Vannes plant have been continuously falling over the recent years, notably due to changes in demand from the group's truck tire plants in Europe.