The investment will be allocated to its plants in Vitoria, Lasarte, Valladolid and Aranda de Duero
Michelin will invest 320 million euros in its Spanish plants in Vitoria, Lasarte (Guipuzcoa), Valladolid and Aranda de Duero (Burgos) within the industrial plan that it presented today to the works councils of said factories and to which EFE has had access.
This Competitiveness Improvement Plan in Spain by Michelin covers the period 2008-2011 and with it, according to the company, the industrial presence of the French tire manufacturer will be "strengthened", with an increase in production of more than 5% compared to last year, which already constituted a historic productivity record.
With the new investment program, Michelin seeks greater competitiveness of its production facilities, aiming to manufacture tires with high technological capabilities and greater added value.
The industrial plan, plant by plant, aims to specialize the Lasarte center in the development and production of high-end motorcycle tires, and 50 million euros of the total investment is allocated to this objective.
In order to complete this project, the Gipuzkoa factory will cease production of passenger car tires, an activity that in recent years had proven to be unprofitable in terms of costs.
Although the company acknowledges a reduction in the size of this plant, as a result of the new structure, it points out that "it is given greater and better prospects for the future."
As for the surplus of workers expected due to this remodeling of Lasarte, it is set at 400 workers, although this will be treated with non-traumatic measures.
The plan assigns to the Vitoria plant, one of the largest in the Michelin Group worldwide, the objective of increasing the production of passenger car and civil engineering tires.
In Aranda de Duero, a center specializing in the manufacture of truck tires, the new ranges of Michelin Durable Technologies will be concentrated.
For Valladolid, the plan is to increase the production of passenger car, agricultural and truck retreaded tires, and to adapt the manufacture of molds to the new demands of customers, it has been decided to transfer its production to external suppliers who possess the appropriate technology.
This plant is scheduled to eliminate the production of molds, "as a consequence of the evolution of customer demands that require a total technological renewal."
Michelin, which has a workforce of 9.100 employees in Spain, is accompanying these production restructuring measures with social actions to be negotiated with the union representatives.
In this regard, it is proposed that 1.500 current employees who will turn 61 during the period of validity of the plan will receive offers of early retirement and other non-traumatic measures, depending on the needs of each center.
The French tire manufacturer notes that all employees not affected by this age threshold will have their jobs guaranteed.
The plan also includes a new hiring policy that is expected to affect around 600 people, distributed among the different work centers.
The company undertakes to establish an aid fund to participate in the creation of 500 new jobs in the Lasarte region, in collaboration with the various administrations and the most representative unions.
This last point will be managed through the Michelin Development Foundation, which, since 2003, has helped to generate more than 1.300 jobs in Spain.
Michelin has reviewed the achievements of the industrial plans it has implemented in Spain since 1997, that is, in the last ten years, in these four plants, as well as in the administrative and design centers in Madrid and Almería, respectively.
The implementation of these industrial plans has resulted in total investments of 860 million euros, a doubling of production figures, the hiring of more than 3.000 workers, and early retirements starting at age 60.
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