Restructuring plans announced by the French-owned tyre-manufacturing group Michelin have not been well received. Michelin announced on 8 September 1999 that it intends to make redundant 7,500 workers across Europe over the next three years, thus affecting production at its plants in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. The announcement coincided with the announcement of a 17% increase in company profits for the first half of 1999, and was followed on 9 September by a 12.5% increase in Michelin's share price on the Paris stock exchange.
Plans to make 7,500 redundancies across Europe over the next three years were announced by the French tyre manufacturer Michelin in September 1999. This led to calls for an urgent meeting of Michelin's recently-established European Works Council and prompted the French government to legislate against companies making redundancies unless they have concluded a 35-hour week agreement aimed at safeguarding jobs.
Restructuring plans announced by the French-owned tyre-manufacturing group Michelin have not been well received. Michelin announced on 8 September 1999 that it intends to make redundant 7,500 workers across Europe over the next three years, thus affecting production at its plants in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. The announcement coincided with the announcement of a 17% increase in company profits for the first half of 1999, and was followed on 9 September by a 12.5% increase in Michelin's share price on the Paris stock exchange.
The announcement has provoked anger from trade unions, with the European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers' Federation (EMCEF) criticising Michelin: "It is hard to believe that while the EU gives top priority to unemployment ... a profitable company such as Michelin intends to make massive job cuts in order to boost profits and competitiveness."
EMCEF has called on Michelin to negotiate with company trade unions over the restructuring and, at a meeting on 21 October 1999, it reminded management of its obligation to inform trade unions of how the restructuring proposals will affect operations across Europe. EMCEF has urged management to convene an urgent meeting of the company's recently-established European Works Council (EWC) to discuss the matter further - an agreement to set up an EWC at Michelin was signed in Paris on 15 October 1999.
The Michelin restructuring plans were the subject of a debate in the European Parliament at its plenary session at the end of October and in France the announcement of the restructuring plans has caused uproar amongst trade unions and within the government. The French government and unions are particularly angry because Michelin appears to have made no attempts to reduce the number of proposed redundancies in France by negotiating a 35-hour week working time deal under the current "Aubry" legislation designed to introduce a statutory 35-hour week by 1 January 2000 (FR9806113F). As a result, an amendment has been inserted into the recent second tranche of draft legislation on the 35-hour week (FR9910197N). The amendment states that employers must have concluded, or be in the process of concluding, an accord to reduce the level of weekly working time to 35 hours or below, or to reduce annual working time to 1,600 hours, before they can inform trade union representatives of their intention to make redundancies and draw up a social plan.
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Eurofound (1999), Michelin redundancies stir unrest, article.
