The blow is hard.
The Japanese manufacturer Bridgestone has decided to permanently close its Béthune plant (Pas-de-Calais) which employs 863 people in the manufacture of tires for cars, AFP learned on Wednesday from management.
Citing excess production capacity in Europe and competition from low-cost Asian brands, the group claims to want to limit as much as possible the number of layoffs through pre-retirement measures, internal or external reclassification of employees, and the search for a buyer for the site.
"It is not a decision that we took lightly," Laurent Dartoux, president and CEO of Bridgestone Europe Africa and Middle East told AFP.
“Structural market problems lead us to take structural measures to preserve the viability of the company's operations,” he explained.
"Fully aware of the social consequences"
This announcement comes almost a year after the decision of French competitor Michelin to close its tire plant in La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée) which employed 619 employees and its site in Bamberg (858 employees), in the south of the 'Germany.
The Continental group also announced Tuesday the closure of its tire factory in Aachen (western Germany) where 1,800 people are employed.
In a press release, Bridgestone said it had informed employees on Wednesday morning that it was considering "the total and definitive cessation of the activity of the Bethune plant" at an extraordinary meeting of the social and economic committee.
The closure could take place from the “second quarter of 2021”.
Bridgestone says it is “fully aware of the social consequences of such a project and undertakes to implement all the necessary means to define a support plan adapted to each employee”.
Reclassifications could in particular be considered in the group's sales and distribution activities, which employ 3,500 people in France.
The Covid-19 crisis has not helped
The Japanese manufacturer, which claims the world's leading position in the tire market, promises “a sustained dialogue with employee representatives” and “an ambitious revitalization plan for employment” in the region.
The Béthune plant, which produces automotive tires under the Bridgestone and Firestone brands, has been experiencing difficulties for a long time.
It is "the least efficient" among the ten factories of the group in Europe, says management.
In a decade, its workforce has fallen by 40%, at the same rate as its production volumes (from 8.5 million units to 5.1 million) in a stable market.
Newsletter "It pays me"
The newsletter that improves your purchasing power
I'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to enable you to receive our news and commercial offers.
Learn more
The health crisis has not helped.
The European automotive market fell by nearly 40% in the first half of the year and is expected to remain down 25% over the year 2020, hit by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.
