Job cuts & shortages – stress for Michelin in Spain

In November Michelin announced it would lay off 176 workers at two Spanish plants in response to forecasted weak demand, and this month it will – albeit for an entirely different reason – halt production at four facilities within the country for a two-day period.

This cut in production affects the tyre maker’s Vitoria, Lasarte, Aranda de Duero and Valladolid plants, with each facility pausing operations for two days in the period between 29 December and 15 January. Michelin has taken this step to compensate for delays to natural rubber supplies reaching the plants as a result of Houthi rebel attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea.

Lower demand, fewer jobs

While the Yemen-based rebels have succeeded in disrupting Michelin’s production in Spain, decreasing demand is having a more profound affect upon the company’s local workforce. Overshadowed by news of potential major job cuts in Germany, Michelin’s announcement of plans to reduce the workforce at its Vitoria and Lasarte sites by 150 and 26 employees respectively went largely unnoticed outside of Spain.

Michelin’s facility in Vitoria employs around 3,500 people and produces car and construction tyres. The company predicts producing five per cent fewer tyres there in 2024 than it did last year. Michelin reported an annual manufacturing capacity of 194,600 tonnes for Vitoria in 2022, but lowered production at the site on several occasions during 2023, most recently a cut of 3,000 tonnes in November.