Michelin’s Russia exit taking longer than planned

Three months after pausing operations in Russia, Michelin issued a press release on 28 June 2022 acknowledging the technical impossibility of resuming operations there. At the time it spoke of transferring control of its operations to local management, and Michelin tells us that the intention was to dispose of its operations in Russia by the end of last year.

Since this announcement, the Michelin Group shares that it “has been working on several exit scenarios, including the sale to a third party.” Yet the task of searching for and negotiating with a local buyer is taking “more time than planned initially,” and Michelin thus reports that this process is “still ongoing.” In its latest communication on the subject, Michelin makes no mention of transferring administrative, sales, or industrial operations to its established management team in Russia, suggesting that this scenario is no longer on the table.