Michelin to cut up to 2,300 jobs over three years

French tyre maker Michelin said on Wednesday it would cut up to 2,300 jobs over three years as part of a new simplification and competitiveness plan in France, adding this would not involve layoffs nor plant closures.

Michelin’s share price was up 0.7 per cent shortly after the stock market open, outperforming a 0.15 per cent rise in Paris’ CAC 40 index .

The job cuts equate to almost 2 per cent of its global workforce.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hammered the auto industry, which was already struggling with the shift to electric vehicles from diesel and gasoline cars.

“The plan is part of a broad co-construction and social dialogue approach and will rely on negotiating a three-year framework agreement that will not entail any layoffs”, the group said in a statement.

“The plan does not rely on plant closures”, it added.

Michelin said the measures would affect up to 1,100 positions in offices and 1,200 positions in plants, stressing nearly 60 per cent of the job reductions would be based on voluntary early retirement schemes.

The company, which employs more than 127,000 worldwide, also said it remained committed to locating “high value-added businesses in France”, saying its “ambitious expansion strategy in hydrogen solutions” was an illustration of this. — Reuters