New job agreement for 16,000 Michelin employees in France

In response to its strategy of expanding activities beyond mobility, and against a backdrop of job-changing transformations such as digitalisation and automation, the Michelin Group has signed a three-year job and career management (GEPP) agreement with three major trade unions. Michelin says the aim of this agreement is to bolster the career growth and professional pathways of its 16,000 France-based employees

Together with the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT), the Union Syndicale Solidaires (SUD), and the General Confederation of Labor – Worker’s Force (CGT-FO), Michelin signed the GEPP agreement on 9 November 2023. The agreement focuses on three main priorities:

• Strengthening internal mobility by offering various resources like job-posting platforms, guidance teams, training opportunities, and support for geographic mobility. The goal is to help employees navigate through career transitions.
• Introducing personalised support for employees in “sensitive positions” – jobs that require skill updates due to changes in technology, organisation, or company strategy. Specialised Development Partners (PDS) will aid these employees’ transitioning to new stable roles within the company.
• A revision of end-of-career policies to align with the extension of working life in France. This involves catering to employees’ preferences in their final five years of work, whether they want an active career, a gradual transition to retirement, or an early conclusion to their professional activities.

Harnessing career path possibilities

An analysis conducted during negotiations indicates that two conditions must be met for a successful implementation of the contract. These are a better understanding amongst employees of career management tools, and improved accessibility to training opportunities for all. To address these challenges, the agreement includes an equal-representation system in the form of the Initiative Exploratoire Personnel (IEP, or Personal Exploratory Initiative), which will enable stakeholders to jointly develop effective solutions.

“This agreement is the result of particularly constructive work conducted with the members of trade union delegations who participated in the negotiations,” states Pierre Février, Michelin’s employee relations director in France. “It clearly demonstrates the Group’s intention to reinforce and update its approach to professional guidance for all its employees. The objective is to assist employees in embracing an active skill development dynamic and to allow each one to harness the extensive career path possibilities offered by the company, including up to retirement.”