Tyre manufacturer Michelin has announced the closure of three plants in Germany. More than 1,500 employees are affected. Previously, Goodyear had announced the end of Fulda.

German tire manufacturers Michelin and Goodyear have announced that they will close several plants in Germany, which will result in over 2,500 employees losing their jobs, reports Blackout News.

These decisions have a significant impact on the affected regions and the employees (auto-motor-und-sport: 29.11.23)

Michelin closes three German plants by 2025: Over 1,500 jobs at risk

Michelin has surprisingly announced that production at three German plants will be discontinued by 2025. The affected locations are Karlsruhe, Homburg and Trier.

Michelin describes this as a “restructuring of the sites in Germany”. The main reasons for these measures are high inflation and the sharp rise in production costs in Germany.

In particular, the price of natural gas in industry has doubled since 2015, and the cost of electricity has risen by 51 percent.

The decision affects not only production, but also personnel, as Michelin plans to lay off 122 employees in the customer contact center for Germany, Austria and Switzerland and relocate this department to Poland. The passenger car tyre plant in Bad Kreuznach will remain unaffected for the time being.

A total of 1,532 employees are affected by the factory closures at Michelin. The Mining, Chemical and Energy Industrial Union (IGBCE) has already announced opposition to Michelin’s plans, stressing that it will not abandon the sites. The union expects Michelin to deliver on its promise to put people at the centre and to remain in dialogue.

Goodyear announces plant closures in Germany: More than 1,000 jobs in Fulda threatened

Goodyear had already announced on November 16 that it would discontinue production at two German plants. This decision is particularly painful for the Fulda plant, which has been producing tires for about 120 years and will now close in 2025. 1,050 employees in Fulda will lose their jobs as a result.

The production of Fulda tyres will continue, if at all, in another country. In addition to Fulda, Goodyear will also close the Fürstendwalde site in Brandenburg by 2027. Goodyear has announced that it will reduce production costs per tire by an average of three dollars over the next five years.

The main reasons for these plant closures are increased energy and production costs in Germany as well as growing competition from low-cost suppliers from the Far East, especially China. These decisions have a significant impact on both the affected employees and local communities. The IGBCE union has announced that it will oppose these decisions, but is expected to have limited influence.

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Michelin also announced 1,400 job cuts in the United States last month. Another German site, in Bamberg, was closed in 2019.